I have always loved Paella but had never attempted making it. As I was thinking of recipes to cook for six of my friends on a lovely Sunday afternoon in July, I thought that this one-pan recipe would make it easier to feed a larger group.
I read a lot of different recipes and in the end decided to adapt various elements of some of them to come up with my preferred version of the classic Spanish Paella. This included using chicken thighs (my favorite part of the bird), adding chorizo and green olives, as well as toasting the rice in olive oil before adding it into the pan (like you would with a risotto).
The resulting Paella was delicious and leisurely savored over several hours and quite a few bottles of Cote de Provences Rose.
Paella with chicken, shrimp and clams
Serves 6 people
Good pinch of saffron (1/2 tsp)
6 chicken thighs
12 shrimps
12 clams
As much chorizo as you like
1 tbsp of smoked paprika
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
7 cups of chicken broth
2.5 cups of rice, toasted in olive oil
1 red pepper cut into 1 inch strips
Green olives
Put saffron and 1⁄4 cup hot water in a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Season chicken and shrimp generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a 16″–18″ paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, shrimps and chorizo and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, for about 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a plate, leaving meats in pan. Add paprika, garlic, tomatoes, olives and onions to pan and cook, stirring often, until onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add the reserved saffron mixture and broth, taste and season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Sprinkle in the toasted rice, distribute evenly with a spoon, and add the peppers. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, 12-15 minutes. (If your pan is larger than the burner, rotate it every two minutes so different parts are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly).
Reduce heat to low, add reserved shrimp, and nestle in clams hinge side down; cook, without stirring, until clams have opened and rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente, 5–10 minutes more. I cheated and gave everything in the pan a gentle nudge once in a while as I cannot simply just watch without doing something!
Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5 minutes before enjoying. Serve with lemon wedges.
I have always loved food and being French, it is a huge part of my culture. With a mother who also happens to be an excellent cook and a father with green fingers, my siblings and I grew up on delicious home cooked food, mainly harvested from my family's large vegetable garden when the season allowed.
My mum however never imparted me with her knowledge (or perhaps as a bratty teenager I just didn't ask) and by the time I moved to London at the age of 19 to pursue a University degree there, I could barely cook anything beyond rather delicious scrambled eggs (the secret is to undercook them a little and add a generous glob of heavy cream at the end).
I quickly met my first serious boyfriend who, thankfully for me, was a good cook and happily fed me while I took on sous-chef duties. After a little while however, our roles in the kitchen started to shift - I think that I wanted to experiment with more styles of food and was perhaps also missing my mum's french cooking, so as we moved in together I took a more active part in menu planning and cooking, until I was mostly the one doing the cooking with my boyfriend helping with prep. We loved hosting friends and family over, which is very much how I grew up as well - my parents routinely hosting lunches and dinners most weekends. And still to this day.
But that all changed when I moved to New York City (this time single) nearly 9 years ago - I stopped cooking entirely. This is not unusual in a city where home kitchens are usually tiny but also where there is an abundance of amazing restaurants. It is very much part of the culture here to go out for nearly every meal, especially at the weekends with their long boozy brunches. And when not going out, there are myriads of food delivery options even from some of the best restaurants in town.
I did host Thanksgiving a couple of times (but had done a potluck) in my first few years and even cooked a couple of dinners for friends on special occasions but that was the extent of my culinary efforts.
Until two years or so ago when I decided to have 6 friends over for Sunday lunch. I had found a recipe that sounded very easy and I always love spending time with friends and bringing people together. Hosting that lunch reminded me of how much I love the process of coming up with a menu, making sure it is cohesive and balanced, prepping the food and of course the cooking itself. I even like making lists of groceries! I also prefer hosting lunch instead of dinner because that leaves us more time to spend together - that way we can wile the afternoon away into the evening: chatting, drinking wine and usually nibbling at a large cheese platter after the main meal.
I have since hosted quite a few lunches and this year I have gotten more confident and adventurous in what I am making - adding a couple of amuse-bouche or appetizers before the main meal and tackling larger pieces of meat which had always intimidated me in the past.
This blog is meant to document a few past lunches and hopefully a lot more upcoming Gourmet Sundays/Fundays!
