CHEF RON'S PAELLA VALENCIANA

SEAFOOD PAELLA VALENCIANA

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Yields: 12 as main course

¼ cup olive oil
1 ¼ pound boneless skinless chicken breast diced large
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons saffron
2 teaspoons Spanish Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ quarts to 2 quarts chicken stock
3 cups of medium grain rice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound squid or calamari, cleaned, bodies cut into rings
1 pound medium size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
25 pieces mussels, beard removed and washed off sand and dirt with cold water
½ pound bay scallops
¼ cup dry white wine like vermouth
1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

In a large sauté pan, heat oil for about 1 minute over medium to high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and bell pepper and cook for another minute. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside. This mixture will give you a lot of liquid when it is cooled. Separate the liquid and set aside. You will need this later.

Meanwhile, dissolve saffron and paprika in a small bowl with about ¼ cup water. Set aside. Combine stock and the liquid residual produced from cooking the tomatoes and bell pepper. This is about 2 cups. Pour about 1 quart of stock into a large stock pot. Bring to boil @ 3 minutes. Add dissolved saffron and paprika and stir. Add rice and keep stirring for 30 minutes using a wooden spatula. If rice dries out before it’s cooked, add more stock. Adding liquid gradually to the rice while cooking will prevent the rice from being too runny or mushy when it’s cooked. You may require to cook the rice longer than 30 minutes before it’s cooked. Taste and check if it’s soft. Season with salt and pepper and set aside for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large non stick skillet using medium to high heat @ 1 minute. Add calamari and shrimp. Stir and cook for about 1 ½ minutes until squid is cooked and shrimp turned opaque. Add scallops and mussels. Keep stirring and cook for another minute. Discard unopened mussels. Add white wine and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in chopped parsley and red bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

In a VERY LARGE mixing bowl, place seafood with tomatoes and bell pepper. Gradually add rice until well combined. Transfer into a large platter. Serve with lemon wedges on the side. Serve hot.