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Craving Paella!

// April 4th, 2009 // Activities

I’ve been wanting to have this dish for the longest time ever. A big fan of seafood, this rich dish originated in Spain. I like the seafood mixed paella dish which has a variety of seafood such as crab meat, squid, lobster, shrimps, mussles, vegetables and different seasonings.

Paella is very easy to make. You definitely need a paella pan, though; you can also use it to stir fry. Here is my recipe, which can be adjusted based on personal tastes and preferences (I shoot for about 2 or 2.5 pounds of seafood). Apologies to readers in countries that use the metric system. I do wish the US would convert to metric, it is much easier.

- Boil 5 cups of chicken stock in a deep pot with the following added: 1.5 teaspoons salt, 1 peeled onion, 1/2 teaspoon saffron.

- In the paella pan, stir fry two Spanish chorizos and about 3/4 lbs. of shrimp in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the paella pan.

- Remove the chorizo and shrimp when the shrimp is cooked with a slotted spoon. Add about 3/4 lbs. of scallops and stir-fry until they are thoroughly cooked.

- Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon. Add 1/2 minced onion, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1 sliced pimiento, and two chopped Roma tomatoes. Add more olive oil if needed. When the onion is tender, add 2 cups of rice and stir for a minute. With a slotted spoon, take the onion out of the chicken broth. Then add the boiling-hot chicken broth to the rice mixture. Add also the contents of one 7 or 8 oz. can of chopped clams.

- Boil the rice/tomato etc./broth mixture uncovered for 5 minutes. Then add about 1 cup of frozen peas. Boil for 5 minutes uncovered. Add the seafood and chorizo that you cooked, plus cleaned mussels on top, and simmer while covered until the liquid is absorbed and the mussels open (about 10-15 minutes).