A Paella Feast

Last spring I acquired a new 18 inch carbon steel paella pan and finally I put it to the test and made paella the "real way" in the real pan on an open fire. Actually we used our Weber kettle grill and the pan just fit on top of the grill handles leaving enough air to keep a good fire burning. I find recipes for paella, like many stews and soups, are only a rough draft and you need to do it to taste using ingredients at hand. The weather here in Jacksonville has been a total rain story and the night of my party we got all of the 20% rain that had been predicted. I invited several friend and their dogs because we are all going to Highlands, North Carolina in late October and we wanted to make sure the dogs were happy together. My guests and dogs got a little soppy and we actually had to finish it on my stove but the results were terrific and I will definitely try this again when the weather gets better. Here is how I did it.

To serve 6
Meat and Seafood

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 chorizo sausages
• 2 thick slices of pork loin
• 3 Italian chicken sausages
• 1 pound of shrimp

Sofrito

• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 large onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 can well drained tomatoes

Saute peppers and onions until soft. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Can be made the day ahead.

Seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper

Garnish

• Italian parsley
• Lemon wedges
• Sliced avocado (this is totally not Spanish however I had a ripe avocado and I liked the combination of favor and the color)

2 cups Valencia rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup peas (frozen defrosted)

Directions:

1. Light a generous amount of charcoal and wait until coals are very hot.
2. Grill the chicken for 20 minutes. Grill the sausages and the pork about 10 minutes.
3. Take meats off grill and cut into bite sized pieces. Remove skin from chicken.
4. Clean grill and put paella pan on to heat up.
5. Add olive oil and 2 cups of rice. Stir until coated then add sofrito and stir until well blended. Add chicken stock and all chicken, pork and sausage. Heat until simmering. Cook 20 minutes and don't stir it. It is supposed to form a crust on the bottom which mine did not because of the rain and all the moving around.) Add shrimp and peas. Cook 1 minute then remove from heat.
6. Cover with a towel and let sit for 10 minutes.
7. Top with sliced avocado, lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Normally when I make paella, I include more shellfish; mussels, clams. squid rings, even chunks of fish like grouper or snapper. I have done all seafood or various combinations but I know one thing for sure. I like the real paella pan and I could easily have made more for a larger crowd! I served this with a terrific orange and red onion salad which my friend Leila brought, and some great Albarino white wine which my friends Jack and Pam brought. Crusty bread and a fresh peach flan completed the menu. What a feast!