Paella is the quintessential country dish of Spain. It’s a fragrant combination of rice, meat, and seafood – making it difficult to know where to place the recipe in this book. Since there’s chicken in the dish, I’m picking the Poultry section! We prepared this recipe for Jennifer Murray Segovia. Jennifer represents several Spanish wines through her St. John’s importing business, Pesantez Segovia. She shared with us an abundance of information about Spain, its food, and wines. Speaking of wines, we washed this paella down with a beautiful Spanish white.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (125 ml) grapeseed oil
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 small onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 3 cups (750 ml) rice
- 8 cups (2 L) chicken broth
- 1 tsp (5 ml) saffron
- 1 lb (454 g) chorizo sausage (or mild Italian)
- 1 lb (454 g) mussels
- ½ lb (226 g) shrimp
- 1 cup (250 ml) peas
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) capers
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) of freshly chopped parsley
How to Make It
- Heat ¼ cup (60 ml) of oil in frying pan on medium. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Mix in garlic, onion, tomato, and bell peppers. Stir until cooked. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Heat ¼ cup (60 ml) of oil in a paella pan or other large, low-sided pan. Sauté rice in paella pan until it is translucent. Pour in chicken broth. Combine well.
- Add chicken mixture, stirring constantly. Sprinkle in the saffron and continue to stir until well mixed. Add chorizo, mussels, shrimp, peas, and capers. Combine well. Bake the paella, uncovered, and on the lowest oven shelf for approximately 25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve on plates or in bowls, with crusty rolls.
