PAELLA
Author Notes: This recipe was inspired by my mother's friend who made this recipe often. She was a Spanish/French teacher and a wonderful cook. I was always so in awe of her because the way she cooked seem so exotic to me as a child. I made a few adaptions with the ingredients, but find the flavors of this dish take me right back to that feelings of awe I had as a child. - ashley_samuel_pierson - ashleypiersonchasesdinner
Food52 Review: This is a paella with the perfect balance of flavors. Rich, moist rice; spicy chorizo and shrimp with just the right amount of heat; and the hint of smokiness from the paprika work together to make this a delicious dish. Beautiful to entertain with! - Jennifer - A&M
Serves 8
- 8 chicken legs
- 1 pound extra large shrimp - deveined and shells removed
- 1 pound chorizo sausage
- 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
- 3 medium tomatoes - chopped
- 8 cloves garlic- minced
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads- crumble threads and add to a few onces of hot water to release flavor and color
- 6 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- approx. 1/2 cups Olive oil for stir frying ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper- cut into 1 inch strips
- 1 green bell pepper- cut into 1 inch strips
- 2 1/2 cups Spanish short grain rice, or Arborio rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 scallions- chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- chopped parsley for garnish
- Accompaniment: fresh lemon wedges
- Once shrimp are deveined and shells removed, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Set aside.
- Roast chicken legs in 450 degree oven until legs reach at internal temp of 160 degrees. Once done, set aside.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle paprika over chopped tomatoes.
- In a seperate small bowl, mix minced garlic with 1 teaspoon sea salt. Make paste consistency.
- Bring stock to a simmer in a 3 quart sauce pan, cover and keep at a bare simmer.
- In a seperate small bowl, mix together wine, saffron ( and liquid), and lemon juice.
- Add olive oil to paella pan over moderately high heat and stir fry chorizo sausage for 8 minutes or until done. Transfer to platter.
- Add shrimp, stir frying in pan for 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter with sausage.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan and stir fry peppers for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic paste and stir fry for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add rice and stir to evenly coat ingredients.
- Measure hot stock to ensure it measures 6 cups, add water if necessary.
- Stir stock, wine mixture, and bay leaf into rice.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly but gently. Look for rice to appear more on surface, and when the spoon would leave a path exposing the bottom of the pan when pulled through the mixture. ( About 5 to 7 minutes)
- Remove pan from heat and stir in shrimp, chorizo sausage, scallions, peas, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Lay chicken legs decoratively around on top.
- Bake, uncovered at 450 degrees, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Look for edges to form a golden crust and almost all liquid to be absorbed.
- Take pan from oven and cover with tin foil. Let stand for 10 minutes. The rice continues to cook and will be perfectly cooked.
- Sprinkle top of dish with chopped parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges.
- Place in middle of your table. Enjoy.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Paella
Tags: paella, travels well



over 2 years ago Shaya
ah, thanks so much! my oven is also a terror on linoleum, which is why I asked :) Looks really delicious!
over 2 years ago ashleypiersonchasesdinner
Hi Shaya,
Thanks for your question. I hesitated to give an exact time because of my oven. So I began checking at the 30 minute mark. I left my legs in for another fifteen to twenty minutes. I would say most ovens would fall in that range of 35 to 45 minutes. If Santa could bring me anything I wanted for Christmas, it would definitely be a new oven!! I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
over 2 years ago Shaya
about how long will it take for step 2?