Spanish Rice Casserole Paella Food

SPANISH RICE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Set oven to 375 degrees.
• Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat; drain the fat, and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat.
• Stir in onion, garlic green pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, chili sauce, salt, pepper, brown sugar, cumin and Worcestershire sauce.
• Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish; press mixture down firmly.
• Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.

PAELLA

Steps:

• Make the sofrito: In a heavy 12-inch skillet heat 3 tablespoons olive oil until hot, add the onions, and pepper strips and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring for 5 minutes more, until most of the liquid in the pan evaporates and the mixture is thick.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In the skillet heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderately high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook it, turning. Add sausages and cook until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and deglaze pan with 1/2 cup dry white wine.
• About a 30 minutes before you plan to serve the paella, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a 14-inch paella pan or shallow casserole at least 14-inches in diameter, combine the sofrito, rice, and the saffron. Pour in 5 cups simmering stock and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and season with salt. Arrange the chicken, sausage, shrimp, clams, and mussels on top of the rice. Set the pan on the floor of the oven or the lowest shelf and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Scatter the peas at random over the whole and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice and the grains are tender but not too soft. If necessary, add the remaining cup stock, if the rice needs to be more soft. Do not stir the paella once it goes in oven.
• Let paella stand at room temperature covered with a cloth for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with the lemons and parsley.

MAKE-AHEAD PAELLA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook's Note: To roast bell peppers, arrange them on a baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel and seed the peppers. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a casserole dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the pasta and toast until golden. Stir in the rice and saffron. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until al dente, about 17 minutes. Add an extra 1/2 cup water if the liquid evaporates before the rice is tender. Meanwhile, season some flour with the paprika in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat 3 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and crisp on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to rest. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO to the skillet, then add the chorizo and cook until the fat begins to render, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with a splash of sherry, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Stir in the peas, thyme and roasted peppers and immediately remove from the heat. Slice the chicken and combine with the rice mixture and chorizo-pepper mixture. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Bake until heated through and the bottom is crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. Add a splash of stock, about 1/2 cup, if the top of the casserole dries out too much. Meanwhile, cover the fish with about 1/2 cup kosher salt and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Season some flour with seafood seasoning in a small dish. Lightly dredge the fish in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook until firm and opaque, 5 to 6 minutes, turning once. Transfer the fish to a plate. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and 1/2 cup sherry, then swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until melted. Add the parsley. Flake the fish into pieces. Top the casserole with the fish, shrimp and sherry sauce. Divide among plates. Cook's Notes: Always buy seafood within 24 hours of serving. Quick-salting cod with salt is a technique of NYC chef George Mendez. It gives the fish a firmer texture and more pronounced flavor. The casserole can be covered and refrigerated before baking for a make-ahead meal.

SPANISH PAELLA WITH CARNAROLI RICE

Steps:

• Using a large heavy skillet, heat olive oil on medium high heat and saute the peppers and onions until translucent.
• Add the chick peas and meats in the pan and saute along with the peppers and onion until golden in color and meat is browned.
• In a saucepan, combine the vegetable broth and the saffron and allow saffron to steep in the broth. This will give the paella its color.
• Add the rice into the skillet and stir until well coated. Once the rice is toasted, add the saffron infused broth, stir, cover with a tight lid, and allow to cook on medium heat for 17 minutes.
• To serve, place in large platter and sprinkle lemon juice on top of the rice.

AUTHENTIC SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• It's best to have all of your ingredients prepared before you start cooking.
• Prepare the rabbit by separating the legs, cutting remaining meat into small slices and lightly salting. (In my area rabbit is seasonal. During the summer and fall I substitute with chicken legs).
• I peel my shrimp, leaving only the tail and then salt them. In Spain they tend to leave the shrimp unshelled.
• I always try to make my chicken stock from scratch (time permitting), adding a bit of rosemary, a tiny pinch of saffron and a bit of thyme. If you're going to use bouillon, I'd recommend at least heating it up with these herbs and then straining before you start.
• Keep your stock hot but not boiling as you cook.
• Coat the bottom of your pallera/pan with olive oil.
• Brown your chorizo over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Do not fully cook, just get the outside well browned. Set aside. This should add a nice red color and a hell of a flavor to your oil.
• Brown the Rabbit for 2-3 minutes. It should not be fully cooked. Set aside.
• Brown garlic, onion and bell pepper until they're softened, adding plum tomatoes shortly before the mixture is finished.
• Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and on the other add the half can of tomato paste. Caramelize it, flipping it and spreading it until it begins to loosen (1-2 min over hight heat).
• Mix all of the vegetables and meats together with the caramelized tomato paste also adding the paprika, parsley and thyme.
• Add rice, mixing together and stirring as the rice browns (1-1 1/2) minutes. As the rice browns mix in the saffron. Make sure to break it between your fingers and stir it in to release all those tasty oils.
• When the rice is slightly translucent add enough chicken stock to cover the whole mixture. If it's been kept warm, it will begin to boil almost immediately. Lower to a medium heat but keep it at a steady boil.
• This is where paella is made and broken. I stir a few times in the first 5-10 minutes, adding broth as necessary to keep the rice fully covered. After this you must let the paella SIT! Let it cook another 10-20 minutes (I find that this step takes longer on a stovetop), adding broth bit by bit to keep the rice submerged until the rice on the top is al dente. Don't worry about rice burning to the bottom, this part (which actually has a name which escapes me at the moment, it's something like socarrat) is a tasty delicacy.
• Once you've stirred the paella for the last time and are letting cook, when you have about 8 minutes left to cook lay shrimp on top, turning over after 2-4 minutes to cook other side.
• When the rice on top is still quite al dente, take paella off of heat and cover. You must let it sit for 15-20 minutes. I've taken the lid off prematurely and ended up with a crunchy mess. Patience is the key.
• Once you're sure it's ready uncover, garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy!

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.

CHICKEN AND RICE SPANISH STYLE OR PAELLA

Steps:

• Season boneless thighs with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and cook thighs until browned and set aside.
• Add the other two tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat and cook chopped green peppers, green onions and garlic. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes or until green pepper is tender.
• Add the rice and green peas and mix well all the ingredients. Add chicken broth, chopped tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper to taste and bring to boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender. Add some more chicken broth or water if it is necessary to make it saucy and not too dry. finally, add the sliced green olives, finely chopped parsley and serve warm.
• NOTE: I also make Spanish Paella with this recipe, but since saffron threds are very expensive, I buy yellow rice with saffron included and add Spanish chorizo sliced, cooked shrimp, and also scallops, clams or mussles can be added if you like, for a complete dish or casserole.