Wednesday, April 02, 2008

paella - - the way we like it

well, to break the monotony of the "gee! my kids are so terribly clever and cute and, don't they say the darndest things?" blog entries, I figured I would dish you all up some culinary inspiration with a paella recipe
Like a good gazpacho recipe, a good paella recipe is never exactly like any other Spanish woman's recipe - - you throw in bits of this and that, and you have a little secret something that you add in to make it your very own - - superb to any other paella about town. but not me; nope, uh-uuuuh. I got this Paella recipe from Janet Davis (she and her family were missionaries in Zaragoza, Spain when we first came to Spain) and I'm not changing it. it's perfect the way she gave it to me. It's not the most traditional Paella recipe you may come across, but it is our favorite (and it may very well become yours!)

in a paella pan (or a large shallow saucepan that can go stove-top as well as oven) fry the following in a bit of olive oil:
three boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thirds, salted and peppered and browned just slightly. (take out of pan and set aside)
one diced red pepper - - sauteed until just soft (take out of pan and set aside)
1/2 link of Spanish chorizo (buy it, along with any other of your authentic Spanish food needs, here), cut into rounds and just barely browned (take out of pan and set aside)

in the same pan, add:
1/4 c. olive oil
one can of diced tomatoes
2c. fresh or frozen green beans (preferably flat) cut into 2 inch strips
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
a few cloves of garlic, diced
a teaspoon or so of salt
cook this up for about five minutes and add:
1.5 c. short grain rice
the set aside peppers
the set aside chorizo
with a wooden spoon, smooth the top of the rice mixture and press the chicken pieces into it. pour 3 c. boiling chicken broth over the top. do not stir. cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, and then place into a preheated 350 degree oven for another 15 minutes. cover with a clean dishtowel and let sit for 10 minutes. serve it up with lemon wedges, a crusty baguette, and a nice Spanish salad (it's easy - - lettuce, tomato wedges, sweet onion wedges and green olives - - dressed with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and salt.)
sigh.
perfect.

7 comments:

Jacquelyn said...

Thanks for the recipe! I've been reading "Ferdinand the bull" to the kids this week for school and was going to attempt a Spanish meal so - perfect timing!

Julie Handel said...

Eureka! I've been looking for that recipe since a few months after my 02 trip to see you guys. Now if I could only find the trip journal I wrote it in... I'm so excited I may make Paella for dinner tonight. So glad I won't have to guess at all the measurements anymore :)

A note to those who haven't had this version of paella yet... it's all it's cracked up to be and more.

darcie said...

Tiene muy buena pinta!

Debora Hoffmann said...

Oh, that sounds so good! We don't have a pan that will work. Hmmm...

When we lived in Seattle, we had a passle of Spanish brothers and sisters visiting our church, and they cooked paella for everyone one Sunday night. What a feast! It was yummy.

Tundra Mom said...

Hi! I'm always amazed at your table pictures. Your table looks so beautiful and put together. If I get the table wiped off and plates on it before we eat, I am doing pretty good! :) Good work!

Naomi Smith said...

Jacquelyn - - we love Ferdinand the bull!

Julie - - I promised you this long, long ago, huh? sorry it took so long!

Becca - - all you have to do to your table before you throw the plates on is wipe it down? you should have seen the load I pulled off this table; you're doing great!

carol said...

Hi - I'm communicating via blog here - the close date on our house is July 10th and we haven't squared away the move date yet (could be as early as the 6th - or as late as the 16th)

How do I make absolutely sure we can hang out while we are briefly in the same locale? And - I'd love to have you stay with us if that's possible, which I think it might be....