Sunnys Easy Mussels And Shrimp Paella Pouches Food

SUNNY'S EASY MUSSELS AND SHRIMP PAELLA POUCHES

Steps:

• For the seafood: Combine the olive oil, paprika, garlic, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. Combine the frozen mussels and shrimp (still frozen) in a large bowl and drizzle the mixture over the top. Toss the seafood to evenly coat.
• For the pouches: Lay four 16- to 20-inch-long pieces of nonstick aluminum foil out on a flat surface and top each one with a piece of parchment paper the same size. Divide the ingredients equally amongst each pouch, starting with the onions in the center of each in a 3-by-5-inch rectangle. Top the onions with the tomato halves, a pinch of salt, rice, peas, then seafood. To close, pull the long sides up over the mixture to meet and fold down together leaving some room for steam (about an inch above your pile), then close the short ends and fold upwards for easy opening.
• Set the oven or grill to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange the pouches on a baking sheet if using the oven, just in case you have a tiny spill. Bake or place the pouches over the indirect heat and cook for 25 minutes. Remove one and open gently; if the mussels are not open and the shrimp are still a bit underdone, close and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove the pouches, and, when cool enough to handle, open and spritz with lemon and garnish with parsley.

COUSCOUS WITH MUSSELS AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat oil on medium in a 4-quart sauté pan. Add chorizo and let it sizzle a minute or two. Stir in onion, garlic and Espelette and cook until onion is soft. Stir in paprika, salt and tomatoes. Simmer gently about 5 minutes, until tomatoes soften and release their juices. Stir in couscous and cook a few minutes until all ingredients are well-combined.
• Add shrimp, folding them in with the rest of the ingredients. Stir in vermouth and stock. Let the liquid come to a simmer. Taste liquid for seasoning and adjust salt and Espelette. Add mussels and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until mussels open, from 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, 5 minutes. The couscous should be tender and should have absorbed most of the liquid.
• Serve directly from the sauté pan or pile the contents on a big, warm platter. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

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.

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.

QUICK AND EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• Cook and stir reserved shrimp shells and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until shells are pink and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir saffron into shells; add chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until broth is a rusty brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
• Strain saffron broth through a fine-mesh sieve; measure out 2 cups of broth, pour into a small saucepan, and place over low heat to keep broth hot.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Cook chorizo slices in hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add onion to sausage; cook and stir until soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Stir garlic into chorizo mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice to skillet and stir to coat rice completely in oil; stir in peas.
• Pat rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over the top of the rice. Lay pepper strips around and in between shrimp; season with salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
• Increase heat to high. When rice begins to sizzle in the skillet, pour reserved 2 cups hot saffron broth over the shrimp; gently shake the skillet to distribute liquid.
• Bake rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is almost tender and still a bit wet, about 20 minutes.
• Place skillet over medium-high and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and rice caramelizes and crusts slightly on the bottom of the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes.