Next Level Paella Recipes

Steps:

• Make the sofrito: In a heavy 12-inch skillet heat 3 tablespoons olive oil until hot, add the onions, and pepper strips and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring for 5 minutes more, until most of the liquid in the pan evaporates and the mixture is thick.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In the skillet heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderately high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook it, turning. Add sausages and cook until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and deglaze pan with 1/2 cup dry white wine.
• About a 30 minutes before you plan to serve the paella, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a 14-inch paella pan or shallow casserole at least 14-inches in diameter, combine the sofrito, rice, and the saffron. Pour in 5 cups simmering stock and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and season with salt. Arrange the chicken, sausage, shrimp, clams, and mussels on top of the rice. Set the pan on the floor of the oven or the lowest shelf and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Scatter the peas at random over the whole and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice and the grains are tender but not too soft. If necessary, add the remaining cup stock, if the rice needs to be more soft. Do not stir the paella once it goes in oven.
• Let paella stand at room temperature covered with a cloth for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with the lemons and parsley.

Steps:

• Spritz 4 to 5 pieces of newspaper with vegetable oil and put in the bottom of a charcoal chimney starter. Fill the chimney with half of the charcoal and light the newspaper.
• When the charcoal is lightly covered with gray ash, carefully pour onto the bottom grate of a kettle grill and spread evenly. Top with the remaining unlit charcoal, spreading evenly so as not to suffocate the lit charcoal. Set the second grate in the kettle and cover until ready to cook.
• Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and remove the seeds to a fine mesh strainer set over a small bowl to catch the juice. Grate the seeded halves on the large hole side of a box grater and discard the skins. Combine the reserved juice and grated tomato and set aside.
• Warm the chicken broth in a kettle or 4-quart saucepan over high heat until it reaches 200 degrees F. Remove the broth from the heat and cover to keep warm.
• Combine the rice, saffron, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and paprika in a small mixing bowl.
• Heat the olive oil in the paella pan on the prepared grill. Season the chicken on all sides with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Once the olive oil shimmers, add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. Move the chicken to the outer edges of the pan. Add the green beans, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and garlic to the center of the pan and cook until they begin to soften and darken in color, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice and cook until most of the liquid has dissipated and the tomatoes thicken and darken, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the rice mixture to the center of the pan and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
• Redistribute the chicken pieces on top of the rice. Add 4 cups of the warm chicken broth and stir to distribute the rice evenly in the pan, making sure that all rice is completely submerged in liquid. From this point forward do not stir the paella. After 8 to 9 minutes, when all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice appears dry, add an additional 4 cups of broth. Continue to cook without stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, about 8 to 9 minutes. The rice should be firm to the bite and the grains have a tiny white dot in the center. Add the remaining cup of broth as needed, until the rice is cooked through. Watch the fire to make sure it is heating evenly and adjust the pan to prevent uneven cooking.
• Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a tea towel and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with salt and 18 turns of pepper. Pat in seasoning with your hands. Heat oil in a large deep saucepan over high heat. Add chicken and sear until brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Add onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, sausage and rice and stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce, bay leaves, Creole seasoning and saffron and simmer 1 minute. Add stock, stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and cook 4 minutes.
• Add lobster, tucking pieces into rice, cover and cook 4 minutes. Add clams, cover and cook 4 minutes. Add mussels and shrimp, cover and cook until rice is tender and shellfish are opened, about 3 minutes. Discard any mussels or clams that have not opened.
• Remove bay leaves and serve in large shallow bowls. Place empty bowls on table for shells.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the prawn heads and parsley stalks and sizzle until the heads turn pink, then mash with a potato masher. Pour over the sherry or wine and 300ml water, season with salt and simmer for 10 mins to make a stock, mashing the prawn heads as they cook.
• Scatter the mussels into the pan, cover the pan loosely with a lid or tea towel, then put over a high heat for 3-4 mins until the mussels just open. Stir to release the mussel juices, then pour the contents of the pan into a colander set over a large bowl containing the saffron. Let the saffron steep in the stock - you will need 700ml in total, so top up with water if needed and give everything a good stir. Pick the mussels out from the colander, then set aside.
• Wipe out the pan and add the rest of the olive oil. Sizzle the chorizo until it releases its oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add the squid and turn over until it turns white. Add the tomatoes and cook down for a minute, then pour over most of the stock, give everything a good stir and bring to the boil. Scatter the rice over the stock, stir well once, then boil vigorously for 5 mins. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and slowly simmer for 10 mins without stirring until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
• Tuck the prawn tails into the rice and simmer for 5 mins, turning them over until cooked through. Stir through the mussels and broad beans or peas. Taste the rice - if it is still a little raw but the pan is dry, add a splash more stock and continue to cook; if it's too soupy, then increase the heat to cook off the last of the stock.
• Once the rice is just cooked, turn off the heat and cover with a tea towel for a few minutes. Scatter over the parsley leaves and lemon zest, then season with smoked salt if you like. Stir everything once, then serve straight from the pan, with lemon wedges on the side.

Steps:

• To make the sofrito, pulse together the onion and pepper in the bowl of a food processor to break them down. Pulse in the jalapeno and garlic and then add the cilantro and tomatoes and puree into a course mixture. Set aside.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a paella pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then add them to the pan skin-side down. Cook without moving too much until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until it has rendered its fat. Add in the sofrito with a good pinch of salt and cook until fragrant and the sofrito begins to toast and dry out, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and toast until rusty in color, about 1 minute.
• Add the rice and toast briefly. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the paprika and cumin and then slowly add the stock, stirring as you add. Nestle the chicken back into the pan and bring to a simmer. Arrange the clams around the chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mussels and shrimp and cover the pan. Cook until the clams and mussels have opened and the rice is tender and crisp on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Discard any clams or mussels that didn't open. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and some torn cilantro. Serve.