Shrimp Paella

By acampman

Omar and Kathryn Sangueza (dermatological pathologist who were clients of Kurt's) invited us over for paella before we left for CA. He is from Bolivia and this is a traditional spanish dish, which we cooked in their garage using a paella pan he smuggled back from South America. His recipe called for rabbit, this one with sausage and seafood is a little easier.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup frozen onions and bell peppers (6 oz)
• 1/4 lb kielbasa (not low-fat), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (1 cup)
• 2 cups instant long-grain white rice such as Uncle Ben's
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (10 fl oz)
• 1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
• 20 frozen cleaned raw medium shrimp
• 1 1/4 lb cockles or other very small (1-inch-wide) hard-shelled clams, scrubbed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup small pimiento-stuffed green olives

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then sauté garlic and frozen onions and peppers, stirring, until garlic and onions are golden, about 2 minutes. Add kielbasa and cook, stirring, until kielbasa is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add rice, wine, broth, saffron, and shrimp and cook, covered and undisturbed, over high heat until most of liquid is absorbed and shrimp are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in cockles, peas, and olives and cook, covered, until cockles open wide, 2 to 4 minutes. (Discard any cockles that remain unopened after 4 minutes.) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.