Patti's Paella
Photo: flickr user benjieordonez
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Photo courtesy of: susan259.livejournal.com
Friends were coming for supper last night and my oven shorted out, so I had to get creative. I had to find a dish that could be cooked in a limited number of pots, wouldn't be labor intensive, and was nearly fool-proof. Besides, I was staying at a friend's house and didn't have my cookbooks, so I did a quick web search and turned up a winner. Paella is one of those versatile dishes native to Spain with dozens of permutations. After looking at several recipes, I came up with my own version, a little of this and that. The dish was fragrant and savory. The rice was moist, the chicken was tender, and each bite was infused with wonderful flavor. One of its virtues is its versatility. Seafood can be added or deleted. Vegetarians can eliminate the meat and add more vegetables. Chorizo can be replaced with hot or sweet Italian sausage or even kielbasa. The next time around, I'm going to add more spice, but my recommendation is to taste it before serving and adjust accordingly. We ended up adding some hot sauce, which was just the extra amount of heat we wanted. Regardless, the flavor is excellent.
Comments
February 14, 2009
Tried this recipe out last night and it ROCKS! Chorizo added a good spice to the paella and marinating the chicken ahead was a very good idea.
I prefer using chicken pieces on the bone, especially tougher cuts like thighs, as you're going to be cooking them for a long time and delicate cuts tend to dry up too much for my liking.
My partner was a bit dissapointed as I didn't add scallops and clams, only prawns - so if you're making this recipe for impact, PLEASE do add all the seafood :)
(for the record, the supermarket was so busy I just wanted to get in and out as quick as poss!)