Entree -- Paella for a Party (prepared mainly in advance!)
Submitted by dvdlee on November 12, 2004 at 3:42 pm

DESCRIPTION
Entree -- Paella for a Party (prepared mainly in advance!)

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Holiday & Party Recipes

INSTRUCTIONS
Paella can be a major problem to make for guests as it requires a lot of kitchen work. The preparation method here allows you to have almost everything done before the guests arrive, then you just have to combine, heat & bake. Depending on if you have cocktails & appitizer prior to dinner or a salad course you need around 15 minutes in the kitchen before it goes into the oven.

The different elements are: 1) cooking the rice; 2) making a tomato sauce or sofrito, 3) stir-fry the chicken & sausage, and 4) combining and baking

1 pound boneless chicken (dark or white)
1 pound fresh chorizo sausage
1 lb. cleaned shrimp (save the shells, devein shrimp)
1 lb. mixed other seafood (any combo of squid, lobster meat, mussels, scallops, crawfish, crab claws - but don't use oysters!)***
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 medium bay leaves
1 & 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano (1/2 teaspoons dried)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 to 1 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups frozen green peas (optional)
2 green onions (minced)
6 tablespoons olive oil (1 + 2 + 3)
6 cups chicken stock (low sodium broth) (4 + 2)
2 medium onions (diced)
3 cloves garlic (pressed)
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, tomatoes diced - reserve ý cup liquid)
3 cups arborio rice (risotto rice)

4 cups chicken stock; Shrimp shells; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cups arborio rice

Put shells in saucepan with chicken stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or so. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet (medium-high heat) for 2 minutes. Add rice and stir until rice is very lightly brown (just barely toasted around 2 minutes). Strain chicken/shrimp liquid and slowly (and carefully) add stock to the skillet with the rice. Bring to a boil over high heat stirring constantly for around 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat, cover and set aside until all the stock has been completely absorbed. Refrigerate until needed for final assembly.

2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 onions; 3 garlic cloves; 2 bay leaves; 1 28 oz. can tomatoes (tomatoes chopped with 1/2 cup juice); 1/2 cup water; oregano; sugar; salt

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and brown until softened. Mix pressed garlic with 2 tablespoons water. Add to onions and continue to cook for around 1 minute (until very fragrant). Add tomatoes, tomato juice, water, bay leaves, oregano, sugar, & salt. Simmer until most of the liquid evaporates (around 20 minutes). Set aside, cool and refrigerate until final assembly

1 pound boneless chicken; 1 pound chorizo; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (can use black pepper)

Combine chili powder, cumin cayenne, & pepper with diced chicken. Stir until chicken is evenly coated with spice mixture. Heat oil in a skillet, over medium-high heat. Saute until colored and just barely cooked through. Set aside. In the same skillet cook the chorizo until very brown & crusty. Break the chorizo into large chunks, but don't let it turn into a hamburger consistency. Don't be scared to be aggressive in cooking the chorizo-it should be almost crunchy. Combine with chicken and refrigerate.

2 cups chicken stock (low-sodium broth); 1 teaspoon saffron; 1 lb. cleaned shrimp; 1 lb. mixed seafood (depending on how much seafood you want you can omit this or add more)

Heat oven to at least 450F. Combine 2 cups chicken stock (low-sodium broth) with saffron, bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes (you can do this ahead, just bring it back to the boiling point for assembly). In a large pot pour saffron/stock, and add the sofrito (tomato sauce) and wine and bring to the boil. Add rice, chicken & chorizo and constantly stir over medium heat until everything is completely heated (around 5 minutes). Add peas and green onions. Place in a LARGE baking pan (14" skillet or similar sized pan) you should not fill the dishes to the top! Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and gently stir in shrimp & other seafood (if using mussels, place them on top!). Bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and let sit for 10-15 minutes then serve. (You can bake this in smaller sized dishes, but adjust cooking times - you want the rice well-done and slightly crunchy on the bottom, and you add the seafood around half way through the cooking so it doesn't over-bake.)

This is a compilation from many different paella recipes. (I examined recipes from Cooks Illustrated, Craig Claborne, Mark Bittman, FoodTV, chef2chef, Elisabeth David, etc.). The "sequencing" or preparation method is from Cooks Illustrated. I made this for dinner last week as a "trial" run for addition to my buffet party menu - and I think it will be a hit! It makes a huge amount, is tasty and is not too expensive if you consider how many you can serve.