Festive Paella
Paella is a traditional and very festive Spanish dish that is best prepared for a crowd. This one-pan rice recipe is teaming with aromatic spices and can be customized with preferred meats and seafoods, or just vegetables. Consider it for your holiday dinner for a kidney friendly alternative.
Makes
Serving size
Ingredients
1 cup onion, minced
1 cup fennel, sliced
½ cup olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili pepper, grounded
½ pound chicken thighs, cut in large cubes
½ teaspoon saffron
5 cups warm water, divided
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
⅓ cup parsley, chopped
3 cups rice from Spain (Calasparra™ or Bomba™) or white rice
2 cups fish stock
3 sprigs thyme
¼ pound shrimp
1 cup peas, frozen
1 cup roasted red peppers, in a jar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sauté onions and fennel in ¼ cup of olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, stirring to incorporate.
- Add the chicken, browning on all sides. Remove the browned chicken and set aside on a plate, allowing any juices to accumulate.
- Crush the saffron threads and dissolve in ½ cup warm water. Reserve.
- With a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with chopped parsley to make a paste. Dissolve it in the remaining 4½ cups of water.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the rice. Stir and add the saffron water, garlic mixture and fish stock. Stir well before adding in thyme.
- Cook over high heat for 5 minutes.
- Return the browned chicken and its juices to the pan. Add shrimp, peas, roasted peppers, arranging attractively. Do not stir the rice again.
- Cover the pan with foil and place inside the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Serve at the table from the large skillet and enjoy!
Cooking Tip
For a greater shrimp flavor, buy shrimp with their shells instead. Peel and reserve the shells. Purée the shells with one of the cups of water and add it to the dish.
Recipe contributed by FamilyCook Productions
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