How To Make Paella
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Paella  
Paella
How to make aromatic paella seasoned with saffron and flavors of the land and sea: Chicken, chorizo, clams, mussels and shrimp. Get your family running to the dinner table. Paella, a popular Spanish rice dish, is a rich, savory meal, complete all in its own. Making paella is a procession but well worth the effort when you take your first bite. Your guests won't be able to stop raving.

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Servings: 6-8
Prep Time: 20 mins.
Cook Time: 50 mins.
Ready In: 2 hrs.
Ingredients
• 3 skinless/boneless chicken thighs, halfed
• 3/4 lb chorizo, sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 lb shrimp (16-20 ct), peeled/deveined
• 1/2 lb clams, live, scrubbed clean
• 1/2 lb mussels, live, scrubbed clean
• 2 1/2 cup short-grain rice
• 7-oz jar queen Spanish olives, stuffed
• 1 TBSP large capers, drained
• 8-oz bottle of clam juice
• 1/2 tsp saffron
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 3 1/2 cup boiling water, ready to use

Sofrito (reserve 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp achiote paste
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 TBSP double concentrate tomato paste
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped
• 1 cup fresh culantro, rough chopped
• 1 large tomatillo, or 3 small
• 1/2 small green bell pepper
• 1/2 small red bell pepper
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

Brine (optional)
• 6 cups cold water
• 1/3 cup salt

Serve With
• fresh chopped cilantro
• lemon wedge for each person
  
Directions
  1. This step optional: In a large non-reactive container with lid, like a glass jar, mix salt into cold water and dissolve completely to make brine. Submerge chicken into brine. Cover with lid. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Combine all sofrito ingredients in a food processor to make a thick cooking base.
  3. Boil water. Keep covered and ready to use.
  4. In a paella pan (or another over-safe, flat-bottom pan with lid), brown chorizo over medium high heat. You won't need oil. The chorizo will render its own fat. After browning, remove chorizo into separate bowl and set aside.
  5. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Brown chicken in same pan. (You may need a little vegetable oil depending on how much fat was rendered from the chorizo.) Remove and set aside.
  6. Preheat oven to 375° F.
  7. Keeping pan juices, add rice. Turn heat up to high. Stir constantly to get rice evenly coated (3-5 minutes). This act roasts the rice to give it more flavor. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sofrito, olives, capers, and saffron. Stir well. Add boiling water and clam juice. Stir to combine. Cover on low heat. Bring to simmer. Uncover.
  8. Add chicken and chorizo back into pan, nestling the pieces into the rice. Cover. Using pot holders, transfer covered paella pan into pre-heated oven. Bake on lower middle oven rack for 20 minutes.
  9. Then, bring pan out onto stovetop under low heat and nestle clams and mussels into rice. Cover and bring to simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and add shrimp on top. Cover. (The clams and mussels take longer to cook. If you add shrimp at the same time, the shrimp will be overcooked.) Cook just until shrimp is evenly pink, opaque, and curled and clams and mussels have opened, releasing their juices. (This is where a clear glass lid is helpful so you can see through to check on the shellfish without having to uncover the lid, thereby releasing all the steam.)
  10. Serve immediately with fresh chopped cilantro and a wedge of lemon for each person to dress their own plate. Goes great with calamari, sofrito potatoes, and sangria. Enjoy!
 
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