Valencian Paella

By CathyD

The classic dish of Spain goes with green salad, garlic French bread, and, of course, wine, although you might try a good amber beer.

Paella the most popular of Spanish specialities, takes its name from the dish it is cooked in. The traditional dish for preparing & serving Spanish paella is a glazed terra cotta cazuela.

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 6 large mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 green pepper, chopped coarsley
• 2 cloves garlic, cruished
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 frying chicken, cut into serving pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 hot Spanish sausages
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 1/2 cups raw rice
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 2 sliced canned pimentoes
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 poiund raw prawns, shelled and deveined
• 1 small can artichoke hearts
• 1 cup very hot clam broth
• 1 pound clams in their shells

Preparation

Step 1

Presoad a clay pot, top and bottom, in water for 15 minutes.

Saute the onions, mushrooms, green pepper, and garlic in the olive oil until the onions turn golden brown, then remove form the oil and set aside. In the same frying pan, brown the chicken parts on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside, then brown the cut-up sausage and set aside.

Add the chicken broth to the frying pan, bring to a boil. and add the paprika, basil, oregano, and saffron (diluted in 1/4 cup hot water and crushed in a mortar). When the boiling point is reached, add the rice, stir and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the onion-mushroom-pepper mixture, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper, then place in the bottom of the pot. Add the sausages, pimento, capers, prawns, and artichoke hearts and mix well, then top with the chicken parts and the very hot clam broth.

Cover the pot and place it in a cod oven. Se the oven temperature at 480 degrees.

Cook for 35 minutes. Meanwhile, scrub the clams thoroughly under cold running water.

When the 35 minutes is up, remove the pot from the oven and add the clams. Return the covered pot to the oven and cook an additional 15 minutes.