Recipe courtesy of Tom Meckfessel
Paella del Reyes' Combination Paella
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: About 50 servings
- Total: 4 hr 5 min
- Prep: 50 min
- Inactive: 1 hr 15 min
- Cook: 2 hr
Ingredients
1 gallon 10 cups chicken broth
1/10 ounce saffron
About 1 cup olive oil
16 pounds chicken thighs
5 pounds Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 1/2 pounds pork loin roast, chopped
2 pounds Serrano ham, diced
7 white onions, chopped
2 1/2 heads garlic, minced
80 ounces canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
5 sprigs fresh rosemary, tied in a bundle
18 cups Bomba rice
2 jars Spanish olives
2 bags frozen green peas
4 pounds clams
2 pounds mussels
3 1/2 pounds cooked asparagus
3 pounds grilled Gulf prawns
2 pounds frozen artichoke hearts
2 jars roasted red peppers, for garnish
Lemon slices, for garnish
1 bunch parsley, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Heat the chicken broth in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Turn off the heat and steep the saffron in the broth for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours before using. Prepare an open fire, if possible, or heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat.
- Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Brown the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and then flip and add the chorizo, pork loin roast, ham and onions. Let it all cook for about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add the saffron chicken broth, tomatoes, pepper flakes and rosemary. Let it cook down and reduce for 30 minutes on high heat. Add the rice, olives and peas, spreading the rice evenly throughout the pan, moving the chicken thighs to make sure the rice is completely submerged. Cook, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, 30 minutes. Reduce the heat by moving the fire away from the pan so the heat is focused around the edges. Be careful not to burn the center.
- Meanwhile, slowly add the clams and mussels into the rice 10 minutes before it's finished cooking. Towards the end, the layer on the bottom of the paella, the socarrat, starts to form, which is the crusty caramelized layer on the bottom. Check the socarrat with your spoon to make sure it isn't burning.
- Add the asparagus, grilled prawns and artichoke hearts. Garnish with the roasted red peppers, lemon slices and parsley. Remove the pan from the heat, cover with tin foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Serve. Enough for everyone, and their neighbors.