Paella! Paella!

I love! love! to make paella, and do so whenever possible and there is a big crowd on hand - because it makes way too much for the three of us. The dilemma is, I invite people over and make it, and then feel i have to meet new people and make it for them, otherwise it would be the only dish my dinner guests would get! It's hard making new friends at my age, but luckily I managed do so recently and thus the paella in the picture. My recipe, or at least the recipe with my variations, came stuck to the paella (the pan, but we will get to that below) when I bought it years ago at Williams-Sonoma.There are many varieties of paella and mine could be described as a gringa version of the Valencia style. I use arborio rice (because it is easier to procure at my local Trader Joe's) and la famila demands that the chicken be deboned and skinned and the shrimp peeled and tails removed before cooking. But other than that, delicioso!

 

So, it turns out that in Valencia, Spain the word for "pan" is indeed "paella" - so every time I would say paella pan, I was really saying Pan! Pan!, just like the 1990's Little Caesar's guy. I found this out the hard way after years of always saying paella pan (or, pan pan) when I would refer to my paella making kitchen vessel, when the Julia child's Spanish teacher (who, ironically Julia refers to as Miss Senorita Roth) was here giving a lesson and I was cooking dinner! Needless to say, I felt like an idiot, you know the kind of person who says who says "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number". (Play the Video! Video!)

The Recipe:

5 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf (which I often  don't have and life doesn't end)

1/4 tsp saffron thread (try not to go broke buying it)

1/2 c white wine

6 tblsp olive oil

1 red pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded & chopped (I often get the canned ones that are ready to go)

2 1/2 cup Arborio rice

4 links Andouille sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces (or more if you like Meatsa! Meatsa!)

1/2 # shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 # cooked chicken breast, chopped

1/2 c frozen peas

In a small pot, bring to a simmer the broth, bay leaf,saffron and wine. Heat oil in the paella pan (pan! pan!). Ad peppers and saute for 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Stir rice into pan (paella). Pour in stock mixture. Boil over med-high heat, stirring for 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for additional 10 minutes, stirring while the liquid is absorbed. Stir in sausage, chicken and shrimp. Stir until shrimp is no longer pink. Add peas. Cover loosely with foil and allow to sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8, and don't forget the crusty bread.