Rick Bayless Mexican Paella With Shrimp Mussels And Chorizo Food

MEXICAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Place chicken broth and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and heat over low heat.
• Over a low gas flame or under the broiler, roast poblano pepper, turning frequently, until charred, about 5 minutes over flame or 10 minutes under broiler. Remove from heat and cover with a clean kitchen towel until cool enough to handle. Rub off charred skin using a paper towel; remove stem and seeds. Rinse pepper and pat dry; cut into 1/2-inch strips; set aside.
• Place tomatoes and their juices in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Season skin side of chicken thighs with salt and place skin-side down in pan; season with salt. Cook until skin is deep golden, about 10 minutes. Turn and cook until chicken is browned and juices run clear, about 10 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a large rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add onion and chorizo. Cook, stirring, until chorizo is cooked through and onion begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add reserved poblano pepper and tomato puree. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and oil begins to separate from mixture, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice to pan and cook, stirring, until rice turns milky white in color, 4 to 5 minutes. Add heated chicken broth and stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is almost cooked through, about 12 minutes.
• Return chicken to pan and nestle into the center of the rice. Arrange shrimp in a ring around the chicken and the mussels in the rice at the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with a piece of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove paella from oven and stir in peas, parsley, and tequila, if desired. Using a large serving spoon, gently fluff mussels and shrimp into rice mixture. Re-cover and let stand for 10 minutes until rice and shellfish are cooked through. Serve immediately.

RICK BAYLESS' MEXICAN PAELLA WITH SHRIMP, MUSSELS, AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• The broth and flavorings. In a large (12-quart) stock pot, combine the broth and salt. Measure in 1 gallon of water, cover the pot and set over medium-low heat.
• Roast the fresh tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a preheated broiler until blackened and blistered, about 6 minutes per side. Cool, then peel (if you wish). Scoop the tomatoes (fresh roasted or canned roasted) into a blender or food processor, along with all their juices. Puree and set aside.
• Roast the poblanos over a gas flame or 4 inches below a preheated broiler, turning frequently, until blackened all over, about 5 minutes for the open flame, 10 minutes under the broiler. Collect in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. When cool rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stem and seed pod, then tear the chiles open, scrape out the seeds and rinse briefly under cold water to remove stray bits of skin and seeds. Chop into ½-inch pieces.
• Brown the chicken. Sprinkle the skin side of the chicken thighs with salt. Set the paella pan over the burner or wood fire-the burner set on high, the wood fire stoked to an impressive blaze. Give the pan a minute or so to heat up, then add the olive oil. Tip the pan to distribute the oil, then immediately start laying in the chicken, skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt. Fry-move the pieces around as necessary to ensure they're not sticking and that they are cooking evenly-until the skin is deeply golden, about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs over (I like to do this with a pair of tongs), and fry until browned and cooked through (juices from a small cut at the thickest part will run clear), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove to a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in a low oven.
• Cook the flavorings. Immediately add the onion and chorizo to the pan. Stir (I use a long-handled grilling spatula), breaking up lumps of chorizo, until the chorizo is cooked through and the onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes and poblanos, and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the mixture is very thick and the oil has separated from it, 7 or 8 minutes.
• Start cooking the rice. If using wood, make sure you fire is still stoked to burn very hot. Add the rice to the flavorings, stir to combine, and keep stirring for 4 or 5 minutes, until a good portion of the rice has turned from translucent to milky white. Pour in the broth mixture and set a timer for 12 minutes. Stir once a minute, slowly and thoroughly scraping across the bottom of the pan and moving the rice from edges into the center. At 12 minutes, the rice should have absorbed enough liquid to look like risotto. Check a kernel of rice: it should be getting soft, but still have a tiny bit of chalkiness at the center. If the rice doesn't look or taste ready, let it cook another minute or two.
• Add the chicken and shellfish. Working quickly (I usually ask for help from a guest at this point), nestle the chicken thighs into the center of the rice, lay the shrimp in a ring around the chicken and arrange the mussels in the rice around the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with two pieces of heavy duty foil (it's typically 18 inches wide) or with a folded-up tablecloth. Turn the burner to its lowest setting or remove the burning logs from under the paella (but leave the embers). Let stand for 10 minutes to cook the shrimp and mussels and finish cooking the rice.
• Serving the paella. Uncover the paella and sprinkle with the peas, parsley, and, if you're using it, the tequila. Using a large serving spoon, gently fluff the mussels and shrimp into the rice mixture. (You can do the same thing with the chicken, but it's more difficult.) You can breathe a sigh of relief. You're ready to serve.

GRILLED PAELLA WITH CHICKEN, CHORIZO, SHRIMP AND MUSSELS

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium on one side and medium high on the other side. If using charcoal, stack the briquettes so they are layered at least halfway up to the grates.
• Remove 4 wide strips of zest from the lemons, then cut the lemons in half and set aside. Combine the chicken broth, lemon zest strips and the saffron in a medium saucepan. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails intact, then add the shells to the saucepan. Devein the shrimp, place in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to grill. Heat the broth mixture over medium-low heat until steaming; cook 25 to 30 minutes, reducing the heat as needed if the broth starts to simmer. Strain into a large measuring cup or heatproof container.
• Meanwhile, combine the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Put the chicken in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the smoked paprika.
• Grill the lemon halves and chicken over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until the lemon halves are charred, 3 to 5 minutes, and the chicken skin is golden brown and crisp, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove to a plate.
• Meanwhile, set a 15-inch paella pan on the grill grates over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the chorizo and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the juices have almost evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the liquid is evaporated, 3 to 4 more minutes. Add the rice and a big pinch of salt; stir to combine and toast lightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the strained broth and stir to combine. Close the grill and cook without stirring, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through, until the rice is plumped and about half of the liquid is absorbed, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in the olives and peas. Nestle the chicken, shrimp and mussels in the rice. Grill, covered and rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through, until the shrimp and chicken are cooked through and the mussels have opened, 10 to 20 more minutes (discard any mussels that do not open).
• Remove the paella from the grill and top with the parsley. Serve with the grilled lemon halves.

SHEET-PAN PAELLA WITH CHORIZO, MUSSELS, AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• Arrange rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread rice on sheet and toast 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring broth, bay leaf, pepper, paprika, saffron, and 1 tsp. salt to a low boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Pour broth mixture into a measuring cup with a spout.
• Remove rice from oven and stir. Arrange chorizo and shallots evenly over rice and pour broth mixture carefully over. Cover baking sheet with inverted second baking sheet, then bake 20 minutes. Carefully remove top baking sheet, stir rice mixture, and continue to bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more.
• Combine shrimp with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Remove baking sheet from oven, discard bay leaf, and stir rice mixture again. Scatter shrimp, mussels, tomatoes, peas, red peppers, and olives over rice. Continue baking until rice is tender, shrimp is opaque and pink, and mussels have opened, about 8 minutes more. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and toss with parsley.

PAELLA (BEEF, CHICKEN AND CHORIZO)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Brown chicken with salt and pepper in separate skillet over med-high heat until cooked through (about 10 minutes). Set aside and keep warm.
• Brown skirt steak with salt and pepper in separate skillet over med-high heat until medium rare (about 5 minutes). Set aside and keep warm.
• Using paella pan (enamel/cast iron/dutch) with olive oil over med-high heat sauté onions, garlic, bell pepper, and chorizo until chorizo is browned (about 10 minutes).
• Add rice, stock, turmeric, saffron and bring to a boil.
• Add the previously set aside proteins and frozen peas, stir all ingredients combined. Immediately place into preheated 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (or until liquid has evaporated).
• Serve immediately.

COUSCOUS PAELLA WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heal oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and peppers. Cook for 8 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add salt, black pepper, thyme, red pepper flakes and turmeric. Stir in broth, 1 cup water and the peas. Bring to a simmer and add shrimp. Simmer, covered, for 2 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through.
• Remove from heat; stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. To serve, fluff with fork and garnish with olives.

SUMMER PAELLA WITH LOBSTER, MUSSELS, SCALLOPS, AND WINE

Steps:

• *Note-if you do not want to work with a live lobster, substitute two frozen, in-shell, 12 ounce tails, thawed and split in half lengthwise.
• Heat the broth, clam juice, and saffron in a saucepan until steaming but not simmering; decrease heat to very low, cover, and keep warm without boiling.
• Position oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat oven to 375°.
• Heat a 14-inch paella pan over medium heat; swirl in the olive oil, then add the onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes, until translucent.
• Add in the garlic; cook for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the tomatoes; keep cooking, stirring frequently, until they begin to break down, about 3 minutes.
• Add in the wine; bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in the pan.
• Increase heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
• Then stir in the rice and the warmed broth; bring to a simmer; decrease heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, set the lobster on a lipped cutting board to catch any internal juices; plunge the tip of a sharp knife into its head about ½ inch behind its eye stalks, thereby piercing the brain and instantly killing it; slice the lobster in half lengthwise.
• Stir the green beans into the simmering rice, then set the mussels around the perimeter of the pan, partially submerging them.
• Arrange the scallops in the pan in a circle inside the mussels, partially submerging them as well; and then lay the lobster halves in the center of the pan cut side down.
• Place in the oven; bake for 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is fairly tender.
• Transfer to a wire rack, cover tightly with foil, and set aside for 10 minutes.
• If desired, remove the lobster meat from the shell and place on top of the paella before serving.