North African Paella Food

NORTH AFRICAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, roasted red pepper, and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, salmon fillet, and merguez sausage; cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour 2 1/2 cups broth and white wine into the pot. Season stew with cumin, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in shrimp; simmer until opaque, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add mussels; cover and let stand until mussels open, about 5 minutes.
• Bring remaining 3 1/2 cups broth to a boil in a separate pot. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat and let stand until couscous absorbs broth, about 5 minutes.
• Serve couscous in shallow bowls; ladle stew on top.

THE ULTIMATE PAELLA

Steps:

• Combine the paprika and oregano in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.
• In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.
• Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.

SEAFOOD PAELLA

Steps:

• Fry the onion in the oil in a 16-inch paella pan until soft, stirring often. Stir in the garlic, and before it begins to color, add the tomatoes. Add the sugar, salt to taste, pimentón (or paprika), and saffron, stir well, and cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a jammy sauce and the oil is sizzling. Add the squid and cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are coated. (You can prepare the dish to this point up to an hour in advance.)
• Bring the stock and wine to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over the rice, bring to a boil, and add salt to taste (even if the broth tastes a bit salty, it will not be salty when it is absorbed by the rice). Stir well and spread the rice out evenly in the pan (do not stir again). Cook the rice over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes, moving the pan around and rotating it so that the rice cooks evenly. Lay the shrimp on top after 10 minutes and turn them when they have become pink on the first side. Add a little more hot stock toward the end if the rice seems too dry and you hear crackly frying noises before it is done. When the rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a large piece of foil.
• Steam the mussels with a finger of water in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. As soon as they open, they are cooked. Throw away any that have not opened.
• Arrange the mussels on top of the paella.

NORTH AFRICAN COUSCOUS PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat oil in saucepan. Add the peppers, scallions, garlic, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Saute over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock or water. Add the shrimp or tofu and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the shrimp is pink. Stir in the peas and cook for another minute.
• Mix in the couscous and butter or margarine. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Uncover the pan, and using a fork, fluff up the couscous and break up any lumps.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a platter, topped with toasted almonds, parsley and lemon wedges.