Paella For A Crowd Food

PAELLA FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large bowl and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika; turn chicken to coat. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; meanwhile prepare an ice-water bath. With a paring knife, core tomatoes and score an X on the bottoms. Working in batches, carefully lower them into boiling water; when skins begin to split, after 30 to 60 seconds, use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to ice-water bath.
• When tomatoes are cool, remove skins (using a paring knife, if necessary) and discard. Halve tomatoes. Remove seeds with a spoon, and discard. Finely chop tomatoes.
• Cut peppers crosswise and into 1/4-inch strips; set aside. Using a mortar and pestle, grind together saffron and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add saffron mixture to a medium bowl and add 1 cup chicken stock and cognac. Whisk until well combined, set aside.
• Heat an 18-inch paella pan with at least 2-inch sides over two burners set at medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook, turning, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Season pork and add to pan. Cook, turning, until browned, about 6 minutes more.
• Add peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, about 8 minutes. Add calamari and shrimp and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes more.
• Add rice to pan and stir to coat. Add reserved saffron mixture and let cook about 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups more stock and bring to a boil. Cook, rotating pan and stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. If rice appears dry around edges add more stock as necessary. Nestle clams, mussels, and peas into rice and add 1 cup stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding more stock as necessary (you may not need to use all the stock), until rice is tender, shellfish has opened, and nearly all the liquid has evaporated from the pan, about 20 minutes.
• Turn heat to high. Add haricot vert, and stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, until vegetables are warmed through, and remaining liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a heavy 12-inch saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until just pink on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes (do not overcook). Transfer to a plate.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil and sausage to pan; cook over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and rice; cook, stirring to coat, until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in paprika, turmeric, tomatoes, and broth, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed almost all liquid, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Stir in cooked shrimp; serve immediately.

SPANISH PAELLA (WITH CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD)

Steps:

• Heat 3 tbsp oil in large skillet on medium high heat.
• Add chicken pieces and fry 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden.
• Remove from skillet and season with salt and pepper.
• Add onions and peppers to skillet.
• Sauté 2 minutes.
• Stir in garlic, paprika and thyme.
• Sauté 1 minute and add shrimp.
• Sauté until shrimp turn pink.
• Add 1 Tbsp oil if needed.
• Sprinkle rice into pan.
• Sauté, stirring frequently 2 to 3 minutes or until coated with oil.
• Stir in tomatoes.
• Season well.
• Combine stock and saffron and stir into rice mixture.
• Bring to boil.
• Boil for about 2 minutes, reduce heat to medium.
• Return chicken and push down into rice.
• Cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Stock should be bubbling.
• Stir rice around and add shrimp, lima beans, red peppers and clams.
• Cook for 10 minutes longer.
• Remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes.
• To serve, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with lemon wedges and green onions.

BEST PAELLA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook turkey and chorizo in oil in batches until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. , In the same skillet, saute onions and red pepper until tender. Add garlic and cayenne; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato puree and wine. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Transfer to a stock pot. Stir in the water, rice, broth, salt, thyme, saffron, bay leaf, turkey and chorizo. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. , Add shrimp; cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove from the heat; discard bay leaf. Stir in olives and parsley.

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.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.
• Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

SPANISH PAELLA FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• Combine parsley; 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and garlid to make herb blend. Set aside.
• Prepare broth - mix together water saffron and chicken broth in saucepan.
• Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat.
• Saute chicken and remove.
• Saute sausage and prosciutto and remove.
• Saute shrimp and remove.
• Reduce heat to medium low.
• Add onions and peppers and saute for 10 min or until soft.
• Add tomatoes, paprika and garlic and cook for 5 min.
• Add rice, cook for 1 min.
• Add meat (not seafood), rice, herb blend, and broth.
• Simmer on low for 10 minutes
• Add mussels - cook 5 min.
• Add shrimp and peas- cook 5 min.
• Sprinkel 1/4 cup lemon juice on top.
• Remove pan from heat, cover with a towel (or similar) and let sit for 10 minutes.

GRILLED PAELLA MIXTA (MIXED PAELLA WITH CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD) RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Sofrito: Place dried peppers (if using) in a medium heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water (if not using, skip to Step 3). Place a weight or wet paper towel on top to help submerge the peppers. Let stand until peppers are fully softened, 30 minutes to 1 hour. If the peppers are very stubborn (as thick-skinned ñoras can be), you may need to tear a small hole in them to let water penetrate inside.
• Drain peppers and discard stems and seeds. Using a paring knife, carefully scrape the flesh from the skins. Discard skins.
• In a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic, onion, green pepper, red pepper, leek, and scraped rehydrated chile flesh (if using), season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring, until vegetables have released their liquid and are beginning to brown lightly on the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes.
• Lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring and scraping frequently, until sofrito is sweet to the taste and a deep golden brown color, about 45 minutes longer. You should have about 2 cups. You can refrigerate the sofrito in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
• For the Paella: Make sure your grill is on a level surface. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over the coal grate. Set cooking grate in place and set a 17-inch paella pan on top of that.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large shallow pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages and sauté until cooked through, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down, to pot. Cover and cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and cook until brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to bowl with sausages. Add onions and 10 chopped garlic cloves to pot; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves; stir 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini and bell peppers. Transfer to another large bowl.
• Toss shrimp with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 minced garlic clove and generous pinch of saffron in medium bowl. (Chicken-sausage mixture, vegetable mixture and shrimp mixture can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush one 18 x 12 x 2 1/4-inch roasting pan with olive oil. Mix rice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into vegetable mixture. Spread rice mixture evenly in prepared pan. Cut sausages diagonally into 1-inch slices. Using wooden spoon, push sausage and chicken pieces into rice mixture; pour any juices from bowl over. Bring 5 cups chicken broth, paprika and remaining 1/4 teaspoon saffron to boil in medium saucepan. Pour evenly over rice mixture. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Bake until rice is almost tender, about 40 minutes.
• Sprinkle shrimp mixture with salt and pepper. Arrange atop rice mixture. Cover pan with foil; bake until shrimp are opaque in center, rice is tender and most of liquid in pan is absorbed, about 20 minutes longer. Sprinkle with parsley. Spoon paella onto plates and serve.