August Recipe: Paella

Well better late than never for me posting my August recipe and craft. Time has seriously escaped me lately! How and why did I want to make paella, seriously I couldn't tell you. I cooked a lot last month and I have to say I wasn't  really inspired by anything new to make. I was reading some article one morning in the paper while waiting for breakfast and it was talking about paella something or other I dont't really remember. I just remember googling paella that night and looking at all these different recipes. I hadn't ever had paella but it sounded awesome. In the into to one recipe I read it taked about how every paella should be different, like the person making it, and that you should change the recipe and put in it what YOU see fit. I loved it! I fell upon Bobby Flay's recipe (who honestly I don't really care for) and what really did it for me was the lemon aioli. So I made MY version of Bobby's recipe. I used only chicken and tiger prawn shrimp (about 3 pds), and no peas (only cause I forgot, I love peas). It was great, everyone loved it, and I can't wait to make it again! If you make this, FYI it makes a ton! Use a huge pan, or better yet a paella pan if you have one. And I'm a saucy person so next time I would  make a double batch of the lemon aioli. So have a dinner party with family and friends and ENJOY!


Ingredients

Saffron Rice:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 4 cups long grain rice
• Large pinch saffron
• 8 cups hot chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

RICE: Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the saffron to the simmering stock and let cook for 1 minute. Add the hot stock to the rice and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let cook for 15 to 18 minutes, remove cover and fluff with a fork.

Lemon Aioli:

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• *2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped lemon zest
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Freshly ground white pepper

Place the garlic, salt, egg yolks, lemon juice and zest in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Slowly add the oil, drop by drop at first, until thickened. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Paella:

• 4 plum tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 whole chickens (2 1/2 pounds each)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 lobsters (1 1/2 pounds each)
• 1/2 pound chorizo, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 8 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 baby squid, cleaned and
• Saffron Rice (above recipe)
• 2 cups chicken stock or clam stock
• 1 cup fresh peas
• 24 mussels, debearded and scrubbed
• 24 littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 4 tablespoons lemon aioli
• Chopped flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with the honey and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast until soft. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large ovenproof pan until almost smoking. Season the chickens with salt and pepper to taste, place in the pan and brown all sides. Degrease the pan and place in the oven and roast the chickens until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes, then cut into quarters.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lobsters and cover the pot. Bring the water back to the boil, reduce the heat, and continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Cook the chorizo in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat until browned. Remove the chorizo to a plate lined with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan or paella pan until almost smoking. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute.

Season the squid with salt and pepper to taste and add to the pan. Continue cooking an additional 2 to 3 minutes until just cooked though. Add the rice, stock, peas, tomatoes, chicken, lobsters and chorizo and stir to combine. Add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and continue cooking until the clams and mussels open. Fold in the parsley and lemon aioli and mix until combined, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Recipe via Bobby Flay