Paella with Seafood
Region: Spain, Valencia
Category: Rice, Couscous, and Other Grains
Season: Any
Difficulty: Labor Intensive
Paella is one of the glories of the cuisine of Valencia. Traditionally, this rice dish is made only with seafood, paella di mariscos, or only with chicken, paella di pollo. Today, of course, there is much more variation, partly because of tourist pressure for seafood-landfood combinations. The paella is the name of both the steel pan it’s cooked in and the prepared dish. There can be quite a number of different ways to make paella, but in the end it’s a rice dish. This version is a scaled down version that feeds four or five, although typically paella is usually intended for a festive occasion to feed more than that. The langoustines called for are usually sold frozen, so feel free to replace them with crayfish, shrimp, or lobster. If you are intending on making the larger version then go here.
Yield: Makes 4 to 5 servings
Preparation Time: 2:30 hours
1/4 cup dried yellow fava beans or dried lima beans
Salt to taste
3 ounces yellowtail or albacore tuna, cut into 4 pieces
3 ounces mahimahi, cut into 4 pieces
3 ounces salmon, cut into 4 pieces
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 shelled langoustines tails (about 3 ounces) or 12 crayfish tails or 12 small shelled shrimp or ¼ pound lobster tail meat, cut into smaller pieces
4 sea scallops (about ¼ pound)
1 large shallot, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 whole roasted Spanish pimentos (pimientos morrones) from a jar, cut into strips
3 canned plum tomatoes, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
1 cup medium-grain rice
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley leaves
1 small bay leaf, crumbled
1 ½ cups rich lobster broth (see Note 1 below) or fish broth
½ cup oyster juice (see Note 2 below)
12 manila clams, washed and scrubbed well
12 mussels, de-bearded, washed and scrubbed well
8 shucked Pacific oysters
Allioli for serving
1. Place the beans in a saucepan of water to cover by at least 4 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until tender, about 1 1/2 hours, adding a little salt. Drain and set aside.
2. Season the fish with salt. In an 11 ½-inch paella pan, heat the olive oil over high heat, then cook the fish until it turns color on both sides, about 2 minutes, turning only once. Remove the fish and set aside. Add the langoustines and scallops and cook until they are seared, about 1 minute. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the shallot, garlic, and pimento to the paella pan and cook, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn, until the vegetables are ready to start burning, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and paprika and cook, stirring, another 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add the rice, parsley, and bay leaf and stir so all the grains are coated. Pour in the rich lobster broth and oyster juice. Add the clams and mussels and push them down into the broth. Add the fava beans and langoustines to the pan, pushing them down into the broth. Reduce the heat to low. Place the fish and oysters on top, without pushing them down into the broth and simmer, covered with aluminum foil, never stirring or poking, until the broth is absorbed and the rice is sticky and tender and the clams and mussels have opened, about 35 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover with a kitchen towel and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve with allioli.
Variation: Add a pinch of saffron, slightly crumbled, to the broth when you pour it in.
Note:
Note 1: a rich lobster broth is made by preparing lobster stock and reducing it by half.
Note 2: add enough water to the oyster juice from the oysters called for to equal ½ cup.
Posted: 02/23/2009
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