Authentic Paella
Description
Paella is just about the most elegant one-dish meal anywhere, but surprisingly, it is not hard to make. This recipe has seafood and chicken, and those magical saffron threads that provide its fragrant flavor.
Ingredients
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2 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
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6 cups chicken stock, divided
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3 cloves garlic
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1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
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1/2 teaspoon curry powder
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5 saffron threads
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salt and ground black pepper to taste
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1/4 cup olive oil
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1 onion, diced
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1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into small pieces
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2 cups peeled and deveined small shrimp, diced
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6 small lobster tails
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1/2 pound clams in shell, scrubbed
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1 (8 ounce) jar mushrooms, drained
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1 cup green peas
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1 (2 ounce) can mussels
Directions
1
Rinse the rice with cold water; drain; set aside. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover, and keep warm. Work the garlic, parsley, curry powder, saffron threads, salt, black pepper, and 1/2 cup of the hot chicken stock together with a mortar and pestle until a smooth liquid forms; set the seasoning liquid aside.
2
Heat the olive oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat; cook and stir the onion until lightly browned. Stir in the chicken, shrimp, lobster, and clams; cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Pour in the seasoning liquid.
3
Stir in the rice, pour in the hot chicken stock, and simmer until the rice is nearly tender, about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms, peas, and mussels; stir two times, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand until rice is soft and flaky, about 7 minutes.