Paella

         Today I decided to make paella. Last August my family took a trip to Barcelona and one evening we walked into this hole in the wall restaurant with the best little Spanish Grandma, as we named her. She made AMAZING paella and ever since then I have been craving her paella so today I took on the challenge. I made a chicken chorizo paella but of course it just wasn't the same. Without a paella pan, yes they do exist, I wasn't able to cook the rice very evenly leaving some bits tasting wonderful and flavorful and others tasting the same but a bit crunchy. Overall this attempt was decent but definitely not my favorite recipe or does it even compare to Spanish Grandma's. This is our Spanish Grandma after our long paella dinner and her's and my conversation  in Spanish about Obama, she loved telling me what she knew of the United States and the government. 

 

Here's the paella recipe my aunt sent me to satisfy my craving. 

Susan’s Chicken Paella

Ingredients

  Spice Mix for chicken:

  1 tablespoon sweet paprika

  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

  Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 (3-pound) frying chicken, cut into 10 pieces

 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small can of green chili

Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish

1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed

4 cups rice (short grain, or whatever you have on hand)

2 cups chicken stock or broth

4 cups of water

Generous pinch saffron threads or poor man’s saffron bojol.

1 1/2 cup sweet peas (I usually use frozen)

Carrots thinly cut on the diagonal for garnish.

Directions

1. Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  OR 15 – 20 minutes at room temperature.
2. In a large Dutch Oven or a Paella pan sauté the chorizo until browned, remove from the pan and set it aside.  
3. Use the same pan add oil if necessary cook the chicken skin-side down, until brown on all sides. (3- 4 minutes on each side).  Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
4. In the same pan, sauté the onions, garlic, green chili and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture browns nicely.
5. Add the rice and stir o coat the grains. Pour in water and broth then simmer for 10 minutes (simmer a little longer if necessary depending on what kind of rice you used), gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid.
6. Now add chicken, and chorizo back into the pan along with the saffron or Bojol
7. Give the mixture a good stir and shake then let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is cooked for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the frozen peas to the pan and stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. At the very end add the thinly sliced carrots and put the lid back on to lightly steam and brighten the carrots color.  Serve and Enjoy.