Today was a trying day though, because the seafood ingredients were hard to find, even if usually these were available! I had to go to two markets and two grocery stores just to get hold of fresh seafood! There was that option of buying in advance and freeze them, but I have always been iffy about it, thus buying fresh ingredients on the day is very important to me.
At the end of it all though, cooking paella is so worth it. Just take a look the the finished product...
The photo did not do justice to it though, since I only used my phone to take a photo. We couldn't wait to dig into it, so there was no time to do those photo-ops. Hahaha.
Here's how I cooked our Paella. It is based on the Paella on the Grill by Bobby Flay. Thank goodness I got to watch it on Food Network, and I have been cooking paella this way ever since.
PAELLA
Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken cutlets
1 kilo clams, scrubbed
1 kilo mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 kilo crabs (the alimasag type), cleaned, cooked, and halved
1/2 kilo jumbo shrimps, shelled but leaving the tails
1/2 kilo squid (medium size)
2 lemons, halved
1/4 kilo scallops
1/4 cup canola oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 cups chicken stock
1 large pinch of saffron (this is a non-negotiable for me)
1/4 cup olive oil (1 tbsp for the lemons)
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 head of garlic - cut crosswise, then finely chopping the top half and retaining the lower half.
1/2 kilo chorizo de Bilbao, sliced thinly
2 red bell peppers, sliced thinly.
4 cups rice (I used 3 cups Sinandomeng and 1 cup malagkit or glutinous rice)
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 /2 cup frozen peas, thawed
How to cook:
- Brush the chicken cutlets with some of the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken over low heat, making sure that the chicken does not get burned. Once cooked, set them aside.
- Meanwhile pour the chicken stock in a saucepan and add the saffron. Let it simmer until the stick is quite boiling. Add the clams and cook until they are open. Remove them to a bowl, discarding those that are not open. Add the mussels and cook until they are open. Remove to a bowl and discard those that are not open. Note: do not overcook! Set aside the stock.
- Brush all the seafood with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill them until they are almost cooked through. Be careful not to over cook them! Set aside the grilled seafood.
- Brush the lemons with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill them cut side down for about 45 seconds, then set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large paellera. Sauté the onions and garlic (even the bottom half of the garlic), then add the chorizos and bell peppers.
- Add the rice and cook - stir it constantly for a few minutes. Add the chicken + saffron stock one cup at a time, stirring the rice a few times. Keep on doing so until the rice is almost cooked. At this point I don't stir the paella rice anymore. NOTE: I know some may disagree in stirring the rice, saying that this is a no-no, but I don't care. I've seen one show featuring Spanish food and in Valencia, the veteran cook was stirring the rice.
- When the rice is cooked, I arranged all the grilled chicken and seafood on top of the rice, burying them slightly here and there. Scatter the peas on top. I let the paella cook (low heat) for about 2-3 minutes.
- Squeeze the juice of two lemon halves over the paella, and nestle the rest in the rice.
- Scatter the parsley on top of the paella. Serve hot.
Usually I serve Sangria, but in this case, I just opened a bottle of Pinot Grigio to go with the paella. By the way, for those who are looking for a good Pinot Grigio, I know that lately this type of wine is hard to find. However, I found a couple of bottles in M&S stores. :)
Enjoy cooking and eating.
Always remember, cook for pleasure, eat with pleasure. :)
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