PAELLA*****Seafood Paella - 9(5) Points

By Unblond1

Ingredients

• SOFRITO:
• 3 servings
• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup very finely chopped spanish onion
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 pinch smoked salt
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• PAELLA:
• 1 cup chicken broth mixed with 1/4 cup clam juice, warm or at room temperature
• 1 generous pinch saffron
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 50 grams diced pancetta (Optional - depending on what else you're putting in)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, if you have it
• Lemon wedges and Alioli (if desired) for serving
• SEAFOOD & OTHER INGREDIENTS:
• CHOOSE 3 OR 4 OF:
• 4 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3-4 scallops, cut in half if large
• 1 small to medium lobster tail, cut in large, bite-sized chunks
• 3 ounces chicken breast, cut in bite-sized pieces and sauteed as shrimp and scallops
• a few angle-cut slices of chorizo, sauteed as shrimp and scallops
• 4 - 5 ounces halibut, monkfish or sea bass, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 8 - 10 baby or pasta clams, scrubbed - N.B. - clams really aren't worth it - awkward to eat and there is so little meat in each one, it's not worth it
• 4 - 6 mussels, in the shell
• 2 - 3 ounces squid, cleaned
• 2 - 3 tablespoons roasted red pepper strips, added with parsley and rosemary
• 2 -3 slices serrano ham or prosciutto, cut into ribbons
• Point value includes 5-6 oz. shrimp and lobster and 3 - 4 oz. scallops

Details

Servings 3

Preparation

Step 1

SOFRITO:

Cut the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a large mixing bowl. Rub the open face of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skin.

Heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions, sugar and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become soft and tender and turn a light brown colour, about 45 minutes. You want them to caramelize. If they start to get too dark, add 1/2 tablespoon of water to keep them from burning while they cook.

Add the tomatoes, paprika and bay leaf and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat.

You'll know the sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in colour and the oil has separated from the sauce.

N.B. The key to this sauce is the onion, not the tomato. Make sure the onion is cooked well enough that it is soft and sweet before you add the tomato.

N.B. This can be made in a larger quantity and frozen in serving size freezer bags - see José Andrés - A Taste of Spain in America, page 37.

PAELLA:

Optional: Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a paella pan over medium heat until hot. Add the halibut chunks and cook for about a minute on each side, until seared. Remove and set aside on a plate, keeping items separate. Repeat with scallops (and lobster and chicken and chorizo, if using). Stir-fry shrimp in hot oil until just pink and set aside separately. Alternately, if cooking on stove top, nestle raw scallops and shrimp into rice for last 15 to 20 minutes.

Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to pan and saute pancetta until it renders its fat and begins to crisp. Add garlic and saute quickly until golden. Add rice and saute until grains are coated. Add sofrito and mix well. Stir in stock, to which you have add the saffron to soften, a good pinch of sea salt, the rosemary sprig and the minced parsley (and the ham, if using) and shake the pan to distribute the rice evenly. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, rotating the pan so that the liquid boils evenly.

Nestle the halibut and scallops (and lobster and chicken, if using) evenly into the top of the rice and cook for another five minutes or so, or until the cooking liquid is almost level with the rice but it is still rather soupy.

Transfer the pan to a 425° oven and bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 or 20 minutes. Sprinkle on a little more stock if it is absorbed too quickly before the rice is done.

Alternately, continue to cook on the stove-top, without stirring, over medium-low heat, swirling the pan ocassionally, until the rice is done and all the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp for the last five minutes or so. Remove from the heat, cover and let rest, as below.

Remove from the oven and arrange the shrimp on top of the paella. Cover loosely with foil and set aside to let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges and alioi if desired.

N.B. If using the alioi, remember that a little goes a long way.