Paella is one of those dishes that looks as good as it is to eat. So, when I saw Rick Bayless’ take the dish outside and prepare it for a group of friends for an episode of his PBS series I knew that I wanted to duplicate the experience.
After all, I love Paella and what better way to end the summer grilling season and kick off fall than with a Paella Party. And apparently, I was not alone. In the last few weeks, both Mario Bartalli on Oprah and Martha Stewart have prepared the traditional Spanish dish and Bayless just tapped another episode of his PBS show featuring Paella and threw a Paella party last Friday.
Paella is one of Bayless’ favorite dishes to prepare.
“It’s dramatic and fun to make, and great for a crowd. I like to make mine outside over a fire. It is great for guests to be able to watch the dish come together,” he said.
And while some may find the thought of preparing Paella daunting, home cooks should not “get intimidated about all of the ingredients. Play around with it and make it your own. Paella definitely lends itself to improve! Get the crowd involved, make the party the making of the Paella,” Bayless suggested.
So, with that in mind, I invited 10 friends over to help me make a Mexican version featuring Mexican Chorizo, chicken and seafood including shrimp, mussels, and clams.
The first thing you should know before having a Paella party is that you need plenty of hors d’œuvres and Sangria. Making paella is neither simple nor quick. Having a nice selection of Tapas-style munchies and a few beverages will get the party started and keep your guests happy as they help you put together the paella.
Susan Simmons, general manager of La Tasca restaurant in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, counsels home chefs to have patience when preparing Paella.
“Patience, fresh ingredients and getting the right kind of rice and using saffron are all important. Patience is number one because it can take a while to make. If you like Risotto, it works really well and won’t take quite as long to make it, you can’t do it with a typical long grain store bought rice. And invite lots of friends over to help you prep the food,” she said.
Cooking this type of dish outdoors may not be for everyone. It was definitely challenging but in the end the general consensus from my guests was that it had been time well spent.
For the Paella, Sangria and hors d’oeuvres recipes go to charmcityfoodie.blogspot.com.
Mexican paella with shrimp, mussels, clams and chorizo
Serves 10
(Adapted from Rick Bayless’ recipe from “Mexico: One Plate at a Time”
- 5 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 1/2 tablespoons salt, plus more for the chicken
- 1 28-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 3 large fresh poblano chiles
- 10 chicken thighs (with bones and skin intact)
- 1/3 cup good quality olive oil
- 1/2 pound white onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed
- 1 head garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 1/2 pounds medium grain rice
- 1 1/3 pounds medium-to-large (21 to 25 count per pound) shrimp, peeled (leaving the tail and final joint intact, if you wish) and deveined
- 2 1/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (if necessary)
- 2 pounds Littleneck clams
- 1/2 pound frozen peas, defrosted
- 1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup silver tequila (optional)
In a medium stock pot, combine the broth and salt. Add in 5 1/2 cups of water, cover the pot and set over medium-low heat. Put the tomatoes into a blender or food processor, along with all their juices. Puree and set aside. Roast the poblanos over a gas flame or 4 inches below a preheated broiler, turning frequently, until blackened all over, about 5 minutes for the open flame, 10 minutes under the broiler. Collect in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. When cool, rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stem and seed pod, then tear the chiles open, scrape out the seeds and rinse briefly under cold water to remove stray bits of skin and seeds. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
Sprinkle the skin side of the chicken thighs with salt. Set the paella pan over the burner or wood fire — the burner set on high, the wood fire stoked to an impressive blaze. Give the pan a minute or so to heat up, then add the olive oil. Tip the pan to distribute the oil, then immediately start laying in the chicken, skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt. Fry — move the pieces around as necessary to ensure they’re not sticking and that they are cooking evenly — until the skin is deeply golden, about 10 minutes. With a pair of tongs, turn the chicken thighs over and fry until browned and cooked through (juices from a small cut at the thickest part will run clear), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove to a rimmed baking sheet, and keep warm in a low oven.
Immediately add the onion and chorizo to the pan. Stir, breaking up lumps of chorizo, until the chorizo is cooked through and the onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes and poblanos, and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the mixture is very thick and the oil has separated from it, 7 or 8 minutes.
If using wood or a charcoal grill, make sure your fire is still stoked to burn very hot. Add the rice to the flavorings, stir to combine, and keep stirring for 4 or 5 minutes, until a good portion of the rice has turned from translucent to milky white. Pour in the broth mixture and set a timer for 12 minutes. Stir once a minute, slowly and thoroughly scraping across the bottom of the pan and moving the rice from edges into the center. At 12 minutes, the rice should have absorbed enough liquid to look like risotto. Check a kernel of rice: It should be getting soft, but still have a tiny bit of chalkiness at the center. If the rice doesn’t look or taste ready, let it cook another minute or two.
Working quickly (I usually ask for help from a guest at this point), nestle the chicken thighs into the center of the rice, lay the shrimp in a ring around the chicken and arrange the mussels in the rice around the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with two pieces of heavy duty foil (it’s typically 18 inches wide) or with a folded-up tablecloth. Turn the burner to its lowest setting or remove the burning logs from under the paella (but leave the embers). Let stand for 10 minutes to cook the shrimp and mussels and finish cooking the rice.
Uncover the paella and sprinkle with the peas, parsley and, if you’re using it, the tequila. Using a large serving spoon, gently fluff the mussels and shrimp into the rice mixture. You can breathe a sigh of relief. You’re ready to serve.
