Ingredients
6 pieces Chicken Legs
6 pieces Chicken Thighs - cut in half
6 pieces Jumbo Prawns (White Tiger Shrimp) Large-shelled
16 pieces Mussels - scrubbed & debearded
1 bunch Asparagus - cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup White wine (dry)
1 teaspoon Saffron threads
3/4 cup Olive oil
2 pieces Onions - medium – chopped
3 cloves Garlic – minced
4 pieces Tomatoes - San Marzano - chopped
1 piece Green or Red Pepper - chopped
1 tablespoon Paprika - ‘spanish smoked’
5 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Rice - Arborio
1 piece Lemon
8 ounces Sausage - smoked (Optional)
6 pieces Squid - Baby (Optional)
2 tablespoons Salt - Lawry’s and table-salt
6 ounces Artichokes hearts - quartered
Preparation
Season chicken legs and thighs with Lawry’s salt and grill on low (or par-broil in oven) for 20-30 minutes. This should degrease chicken. Can be done 1 day ahead, and refrigerate.
Cook asparagus in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, to stop the cooking.
Saute the onion (with olive oil) in an oven safe paella pan (11" x 3" deep) until soft, stirring often. Add the rice, and stir making sure all the rice is coated in oil and ’toast’ for 1-2 minutes. Add wine and cook for 1-2 minute. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute, add carrots, green pepper, and artichokes (all hard veggies) and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add 3/4 of the tomatoes, asparagus and all soft veggies and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add salt to taste (don’t be shy, it is absorbed into the rice), saffron and stir well. Cook on medium until tomatoes are reduced to a jammy sauce adding a little stock as it cooks. Bring the rest of the stock to a boil and pour over the rice, bringing to a boil, and add salt to taste. Reduce to medium heat, and stirring frequently, cook for 10 minutes until rice is moist and tender but still a little ‘al dente’. Fold the chicken into the rice and spread the rice out evenly in the pan. In a pre-heated oven (300 F.), place pot (covered) in oven and bake paella for 10 minutes or until broth is 100% absorbed by the rice, and rice is moist tender. If necessary add stock to moisten rice.
While paella is baking, sauté the rest of the tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (add a little parsley & salt). Add a splash of white wine, the mussels and shrimp and cover pan. Depending on size the shrimp may take 1-2 minutes and the mussels will take 1-2 minutes. As soon as the mussels are open and the shrimp are pink they are cooked. Throw away any mussels that have not opened.
Remove the paella from the oven, arrange the prawns and mussels on top of the paella and let sit for covered 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges. Serve and enjoy!
BUEN PROVECHO!!
