PAELLA WITH CHICKEN OR SEAFOOD (Adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking Magazine No. 33, page 46)
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Prepare stock and main ingredients (about 1 ½ hour) 3 ½ cups chicken stock or 3 ½ cups fish stock Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. 8 - 10 threads saffron Pinch of salt ½ cup of heated stock More salt if needed Meanwhile, place saffron threads on a 3 inch wide piece of aluminum foil and fold to make a square packet. Set packet on the lid of the simmering stock for about 15 minutes. Unfold and transfer the saffron to a small bowl, add salt and crush. Add stock and let steep for 15 minutes. Add saffron-infused liquid back to the saucepan. Add more salt to taste, if needed. Chicken breast pieces or Shrimp, Scallops and Calamari cut in rings 1/4 cup olive oil 1 small head of garlic In the paella pan, saute chicken and garlic on medium high heat until golden, 10 or 15 minutes, or saute seafood briefly, remove and continue sauteing garlic until golden, as above. Transfer chicken or seafood to a bowl, leave garlic in the pan. 1 medium red bell pepper, in 1 inch wide strips More olive oil if needed Reduce heat to low. Saute red pepper slices until very limp, 20 or 25 minutes. Transfer to bowl. 1 can artichoke heads, quartered, leaf portion trimmed 16 green beans, trimmed, cut in 2 inch lengths At medium low temperature, saute artichokes until golden and green beans until soft and slightly wrinkled, 15 to 25 minutes. Transfer to bowl with chicken or seafood. Prepare sofrito (about 15 minutes) 1 small onion, finely diced 1/3 of 14 oz can diced tomatoes 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced Salt (generous amount) Pour off all but 1 Tbsp of oil from pan. Increase heat to medium. Saute onion and garlic slices until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add grated tomato. Season well with salt and saute until water from the tomato has cooked out and the mixture is a dark burgundy color and a very thick puree, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove stock and sofrito from heat if not continuing at this time. Completing the paella (about 20 minutes) Peel the red pepper slices. 1 ½ cups medium grain rice Prepared chicken, if using Prepared artichokes Prepared green beans About 30 minutes prior to you are ready to eat, bring stock back to a simmer and sofrito to medium heat. Distribute the sofrito. Add rice, stirring until translucent, about 1 or 2 minutes. Spread rice out so that it blankets the bottom of the pan. If using chicken, arrange pieces in the pan, and distribute artichokes and green beans evenly. 3 cups of prepared stock Prepared red pepper strips Prepared garlic head Increase heat to medium high. Pour in simmering stock. As stock comes to a boil lay the peppers in the pan in a starburst pattern. Place garlic head in center. Cook until rice begins to appear above the liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprig of rosemary Add rosemary and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Check for doneness. Add more stock and cook a few minutes more if needed. Prepared seafood, if using Add seafood, if using. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 minutes, to cook the top layer of rice evenly. Prepare socarrat (about 10 minutes) On medium high heat, still covered, cook until the bottom layer of rice begins to caramelize, about 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat immediately if you sense burning. Remove from heat, let rest, still covered, for 5 to 10 minutes.