Regular Paella can take many hours including baking in the oven, which can also dry the dish. This version is quick in comparison, flavorful as the original but does not dry out.
By Mary Swift Swan
Published: October, 2005
Advance Preparation - 50 minutes
Cook time - 10 minutes
Serves 2
Regular Paella can take many hours including baking in the oven, which can also dry the dish. This version is quick in comparison, flavorful as the original but does not dry out.
Seafood Broth
10 C water in a stockpot or wide-rimmed pot
1lb shrimp in shell, fish heads and trimmings
1 carrot, chopped
1celery stalk, chopped
1white onion sliced, leave on dry husk
¼ C white wine
4 whole pepper corns
small pinch of saffron threads
pinch of sea salt
Bring the water to a boil. Add all Seafood Broth ingredients to the boiling water, and leave to cook uncovered. Bring to a slow boil and maintain heat to reduce stock for ½ hour. Strain all solids, then return only the broth to the stockpot. Keep warm until ready to assemble the Paella.
Seafood Broth is best if made ahead, which allows the ingredients to share their full flavor to the broth. Extra broth it can be stored up to a week, if refrigerated. Seafood ingredients are easily purchased fresh at the local fish market.
While the broth is reducing,
prepare and set aside:
½ C carrot, julienne
½ C sweet red bell pepper, julienne
½C green pepper, julienne
½C white onion, sliced
½ C tomatoes diced, hot-house
or Roma, peeled
½ T garlic, peeled and chopped
Season the final broth to taste with saffron threads, sea salt and ground pepper. Add a few vegetables at the end, to vary crispness for the final dish. To peel tomatoes for this broth, use a vegetable peeler or hot bath as in the tomato salad.
Paella Rice
1 C long-grained white rice
2C water
1T chicken stock base concentrate or 2 cups homemade or canned chicken stock
Dash salt, pepper and saffron threads
Boil water together with chicken stock base. Add and cook the rice to the directions on the package, less 5 minutes, and set aside. This leaves the rice a bit firm with room to absorb the Paella Seafood broth and wine during the final assembly. This rice can be made ahead up to 3 days before use.
The small amount of saffron in both broth and rice combine to intensify the overall flavor of Paella, without overwhelming the varied flavors of the ingredients.
Hotel Mac’s Quick Paella, Assembly
10 Med.-Lg. raw prawns,
remove shell
6oz lingcod (firm white fish)
8 mussels, bearded
8 clams
2oz Andoullie sausage, diced
2oz calamari, sliced into rings
2C cooked Paella rice
2C Seafood Broth
with vegetables
Remaining raw vegetables
1oz green onion stalks,
slivered for garnish
First, prepare the shrimp. Shrimp can be purchased frozen in the shell already de-veined. If not de-veined, use a bamboo skewer (like used for chicken satay). Slide the pointed end under the tail before shelling, forcing the shrimp flat, nearly to its head. Turn the skewer once and pull out vein slowly. If the bamboo skewer is not available, shell shrimp, then cut the shrimp 1/8 inch deep along the back to reveal the vein. Take out the vein using the tip of the knife. In either case, save and use shrimp shells for the Seafood Broth.
Cut the lingcod (most firm white fish works) into medium bite size pieces. All trimmings from the fish also go into the pot for the Seafood broth.
Marinate the prepared raw shrimp and fish pieces in a small/medium but deep bowl, adequate size to contain and share the juices of the dressed seafood.
Shrimp and Fish Marinade
1 T Lemon juice, Meyer
is recommended
¼ t Sea salt
1/8tt Pepper
1 clove Garlic, pressed
When ready to put Paella together, put most of the fresh vegetables into the hot broth. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, then add marinated shrimp and fish.
When the shrimp becomes translucent (half cooked), add clams, mussels and the white wine. Add the calamari then the sausage. Toss with the other seafood to distribute a small amount of lard and seasoning from the sausage into the mix of flavors. This takes about 1 minute. Calamari cooks fast and this sausage just needs heating.
Final steps are to add Paella rice, then the Seafood Broth and lastly, the remaining fresh vegetables.
Heat remains at a low medium for the open Paella or frying pan. Toss the mixture and occasionally stir, to keep from sticking. Angle the pan to check if the broth is fully absorbed then stir.
When the last of the broth is absorbed, it is ready to serve. Plate for serving with slivers of green onions as garnish. All the colors of fall are present in this wonder and easy to make version of Paella.
