Paella Para Mi

It all started quite randomly, my friend Steve asked me if, in my many culinary triumphs (his words, not mine. I swear!), I had ever made paella. I humbly admitted, no. So after talking, and salivating, about it, I went off to the market to buy ingredients. I kept the proteins simple; linguica, because I couldn't find dry chorizo, and shrimp. You, of course, may add scrubbed clams, de-bearded muscles, any sort of firm flesh fish, even lobster. Here's how it came together:

~Paella para mi~

(All of these meats and seafood are optional, but one should try to include a nice variety)
1 chicken, cut into pieces
2 dozen clams
2 dozen muscles
1 pound of shrimp, 26-30 count, in shells
2 cups sliced and cooked dry chorizo, linguica, or andouille sausage
3 small lobsters, cut into serving pieces after being cooked

- Tip -
Grill all the meats and seafood instead of cooking them in the pot. Of course, cooking in the pot allows for a nice, rustic crust at the bottom of the dish when finished...

1/2 cup olive oil
1 large red or Spanish onion, chopped
1 cup colorful bell peppers, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
10-15 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups uncooked short grain rice
1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes or substitute 1 (14.5 oz) can of chopped tomatoes, strained
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1tbsp hot sauce (optional)
9 bay leaves
3 tbsps creole seasoning
1/2 tsp saffron threads (if you don't have saffron, try paprika, but the saffron is authentic)
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups dry white wine

Aggressively season chicken with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan, over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear until brown on all sides. Remove chicken, add the sausage to the pan and brown. Replace the chicken, add the onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, and rice. Cook together for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, bay leaves, creole seasoning, and saffron and cook for about 1 minute. Add the stock and white wine, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the lobster pieces (cooked at this point, either grilled, or lightly steamed), cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the clams, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Add the muscles and shrimp, cover and cook until the shells on the clams and muscles have opened, about another 3 minutes. Discard any clams or muscles that have not opened. Remove the bay leaves and serve garnished with freshly chopped parsley.

You can serve this dish with a nice, dry Spanish Rioja, or do what I did and enjoy it with the 2005 Frank Family Vineyards, Napa Valley Zinfandel. Big yet smooth right off the bat, it displayed ripe fruit flavors and a long, tasty finish. It was excellent with the paella!

Cheers!
Tony