How to Make Paella

Paella is one of my favorites and Mr. Mama Maven made it for us a few weeks ago. The combination of rice and seafood was incredible and even the kids wanted seconds. I’ve had Paella many times and when I go to a restaurant and it’s on the menu, it’s really hard for me to resist.

Note: We used a recipe from Ingrid Hoffman at Food Network and it called for a Paella Pan, which we didn’t have. We used a large frying pan and then realized that it was too small. We moved it to a large stockpot and it was much better. Paella pans actually aren’t that expensive, so if Paella is something you want to make often, you may want to get one!

My daughter helped my husband make this. We try to have our kids help out in the kitchen more lately – we do the heavy lifting, but kids can wash produce, add ingredients, and stir.

To make this Paella, first cut up onions, green and red peppers.

Heat up chicken broth on the stove.

Cut up sausage (I used turkey sausage — either regular or hot sausage — sweet will not taste good).

Sauté sausage and onions first, with some olive oil. The recipe called for Chorizo, but I subbed in turkey sausage (not sweet or hot), just regular turkey sausage links.

Add peppers and onions.

Add rice and then diced tomatoes from a can.

Add tomato paste.

Looks delicious, right?

We added the chicken stock next and frankly, we were over our heads. Too much liquid. I really didn’t want a mess on the stove.

So we moved everything into a big stock pot. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until rice is tender. Add the shrimp and the scallops and let cook covered for 5 to 7 minutes more.

And then my husband plated this deliciousness. It smelled amazing. I’m used to Paella without the tomatoes, but this was amazing.

Ingrid Hoffman recommends that you use a Paella Pan — and they are pretty reasonable if you want to pick one up (between $20 to $60). If Paella is something you make often, you might want to get one. I linked to a few below.

Or here is the link to more Paella Pans http://amzn.to/2mwv7mp

RECIPE

Ingredients

6 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded, ribbed and thinly sliced
1 green pepper, seeded, ribbed and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Spanish saffron, pistils only
4 links Spanish dry-cured chorizo (about 6 ounces), sliced
1 1/2 cups white rice
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 pounds raw, peeled large shrimp
1 pound sea scallops
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley leaves
Lemon wedges, for decoration

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken stock until boiling.

In a separate large saucepan or paella pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the onion, the garlic, the peppers, the saffron and the chorizo. Cook for 6 minutes or until vegetables are soft and chorizo is browned.

Stir in the rice, tomatoes and tomato paste until well mixed and cook for 5 minutes. Add the boiling chicken stock little by little, stirring each addition constantly until the stock is almost absorbed.

Cover the paella pan with aluminum foil, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until rice is tender. Add the shrimp and the scallops and let cook covered for 5 to 7 minutes more.

Decorate with the chopped parsley and lemon wedges.

Recipe courtesy of Ingrid Hoffmann

Find Ingrid’s full Paella Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ingrid-hoffmann/shrimp-and-scallop-easy-paella-recipe.html