Oh my God this
is good! It's like God
himself decided that people
needed an especially delicious
dish and came up with this.
Paella is so
good, so exotic, and so
showy. It makes a great
meal to serve to guests because
the presentation is so
beautiful, but it's still pretty
easy to make. Those are
the good parts about this
recipe. The bad parts are
that you need a special pan,
special rice, and special
spices, but once you make this I
think you will agree it's worth
it. This recipe calls for
scallops, shrimp, and lobster
but as long as you have 2½ lbs
of shellfish it doesn't matter
how much of each you have, you
can even make this with just a
single type of shellfish.
First you need a paella pan. It should be carbon steel and, for this recipe, 15" in diameter. They are not hard to get. Kitchen specialty stores, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. carry paella pans, and the 15" size is the most common. Second you need special rice. Calasparra rice is the most popular paella rice and that's what I used for this recipe. Calasparra rice is available on the internet and at specialty grocery stores like Fresh Market. I get mine from Amazon. Now you need saffron. Saffron is unbelievably expensive when you consider how much it costs per gram but it's not so bad whey you realize you use so little in a recipe. Again, saffron is available from specialty grocery stores and the internet and again I get it from Amazon. Lastly you need a large even heat source. We are lucky enough to have a smooth top stove with a very large burner that covers almost the entire pan but some people make paella on their gas or charcoal grill and that seems to work well.
| 3 cups | Calasparra rice |
| 1 lb |
large shrimp, peeled and deveined |
| ½ lb |
scallops |
| 1 lb |
lobster cut into 1" pieces or use langostino
tails |
| 8 cups |
chicken broth or stock |
| ½ lb |
frozen green beans cut into 1" to 1½" pieces (don't use french style green beans as they cook too fast) |
| 2 large |
tomatoes |
| 1 |
chopped onion (you can also
add a cup of mixed red and green peppers that have been
seeded and cut
into slivers if you like) |
| 2
tsp (total) |
smoked paprika |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 1
tbl |
minced garlic |
| 2 6"
sprigs |
fresh rosemary, with the leaves stripped from the stems and finely chopped |
| 20 threads | saffron |
| 2 lb | olive oil |
Add
the olive oil
to the paella
pan and turn
the heat to medium
high.
When the oil
is hot, add
the scallops
and brown
them on each
side.
As soon
as the
scallops are
browned add
the shrimp
and lobster
and stir
until
shrimp
are pink throughout
but do not
overcook.
The
seafood
does
not need to be
cooked all the
way through as
it will finish
cooking later
on. Take
the seafood
out of the pan,
set it on a
plate, and
cover with
foil.
After
the seafood
is aside, add
the onions and
green beans
(the green
beans can
still be frozen
at this point)
to the
paella pan and
cook for 4
minutes,
stirring
occasionally.
Now add the
tomato juice
and pulp
mixture and
cook for 4
minutes,
stirring
occasionally.
Add the rice
and cook for 1
minute.
Now
turn the heat
down to medium
low and add 4
cups of the
stock.
Since it is
already hot it
should start
simmering
almost
immediately.
Adjust the
heat so that
the stock
stays barely
at a
simmer.
Let this cook,
uncovered, for
12
minutes.
Now add 2½
cups more
stock and let
this come to a
simmer and
keep this at a
very low
simmer for
another 12
minutes.
Arrange the
seafood over
the top of the
paella, Add 1
more cup of
stock,
sprinkle the
remaining tsp
of smoked
paprika over
the seafood,
and turn the
heat down so
that the stock
barely
bubbles. Cook
until the
stock is
absorbed/evaporated.
Take the paella off the heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Serve.