Susan, Todd and Kristin Cook Paella

Today I have the privilege of posting a write-up from my mom (Susan), my step-father (Todd), and my sister (Kristin). My mom is a better writer, my step-father a better photographer, and my sister a better cook, so this should be good. Bon appetit!

Susan, Todd and Kristin Cook Paella.

Earlier this year, Todd and Susan went to a paella cooking class at a local winery, La Serenissma.  While Todd sampled cabernet sauvignon from the barrel, Susan learned to cook paella from a native of Spain in a beautiful huge paella pan.  (Paella, which originated in Valencia, Spain, is the popular rice, seafood, and vegetable dish that is sometimes called Spain’s national dish.)  Susan and Todd really enjoyed the paella, which stood up well to the cab and inspired them to invest in their own pan. 

The paella pan, purchased at Williams Sonoma, is an 18-inch carbon steel pan that can be used on a stove-top gas burner or on an outside grill.  The pan needed to be seasoned before use.  Todd did this by coating both sides with vegetable oil and placing it in the oven at a high temperature three times, and then with olive oil one time.  The result is pictured below, a slightly bronzed and oily pan, ready for paella. 

We had a bare bones recipe from the cooking class that we adapted to our own tastes.  Due to allergies and lack of fresh calamari, we elected to use shrimp and scallops for the seafood.  (Clams and mussels are frequently ingredients, but we chose not to use them.)  We also couldn’t find any chorizo, so we used Louisiana hot sausage instead.  Part of the fun of making paella is being able to substitute ingredients without ruining the overall character of the dish.

First we made the fish broth.  The recipe called for a whole fish or fish heads, but that grossed Susan out so we used two fresh fillets of red snapper.  We boiled the snapper with a small onion cut into chunks, some roma tomatoes, and a bay leaf for 45 minutes, and then strained the liquid into a clear broth. 

We then prepped our ingredients.  This included 20 large shrimp, one half pound of scallops, two chicken breasts and four sausages cut into chunks.  For the vegetables, we used 2 cups of marinated artichokes, two chopped bell peppers, one cup of frozen peas, one chopped onion, and 1 cup of chopped parsley.  We were attempting to double a recipe for four people, but, as you will see, we ended up making a dish for at least 12 people. 

With a glass of Viognier in hand (from the Miner winery in Napa, sent from my recent trip), we began to cook, joined by Bernie and Linda from across the street.  First we browned the onions, garlic and parsley. 

We briefly sautéed the shrimp and scallops with the onions and then removed them from the pan so they did not overcook. After that we added the chicken, sausage, and two cups of white wine and let is simmer for 5 minutes. 

In went the vegetables, and two cans of chopped stewed tomatoes.  Then we added four cups of arborio rice, and stirred everything together.  We added 6 – 8 cups of  the fish broth intermittently to keep the rice cooking. 

Because there was more paella than we expected, we added more fish broth and white wine to keep the rice moist and cooking.  Finally we added the saffron and the scallops and shrimp back into the simmering mixture. 

End result—it tasted awesome!  The only criticisms were that we added the saffron too late and it didn’t really dissolve and coat the ingredients with the beautiful yellow color associated with paella.  Also some of us felt there was too much rice.  We also made enough paella for an army, and we may need to follow a more specific recipe in the future.  Everyone had seconds.  We drank wine from the Miner Vineyard in Napa—a Viogner and Oracle, a cab-based red blend.  Delicious.