TERRESTRIAL CRITTER PAELLA
Ingredients:
• 1.5 cups/360ml- Paella rice- Bomba (Spanish) Brand preferred. You've got to use arborio or similar short grain rice.
• 4 cups/960ml chicken stock- Aneto (Spanish) brand preferred. (sub w/fish stock if your making seafood Paella)
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or equivalent portion of Pork loin -minced. (Marinate with 3 gloves garlic, 1/2 cup/125ml Olive Oil and 1/2cup/125mlCream Sherry- Soak for an hour before cooking.)
• 1 cup/240ml shallots-minced
• 1 cup/240ml Sweet peppers-minced- bottled piquillo peppers or fresh red bell
• 1 tbs/14g tomato paste- double concentrate- Muttibrand or equivalent
• 3/4 tsp /4 g saffron threads- pulverized and added to 50ml of warmed cream sherry or arbequina wine
• 1 tsp/ 5 grams sweet paprika
• 6 cloves garlic- all crushed- 3 used with chicken marinade
• 1 tsp/5grams salt
• 1 porterhouse steak (0.5lb/250-300g or less)
• Harissa Aoili- recipe below
• 1cup/240ml Mayonaise- Best brand made with Olive oil
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 2 tbs/28g Harrissa pepper paste
Parsley Oil-recipe below
• I cup/240ml minced parsley
• 1/2 tsp/5g sugar
• 3 tbs/35ml Olive oil
• 10 Sweet small cherry tomatoes- washed and cut in half.
• 1 jar of Piparra pickled peppers- sold by Matiz
COOKING
1. Mince chicken to 1/2 or smaller pieces. Combine sherry, olive oil and 3 crushed cloves of garlic. Pour over chicken and leave to soak for about an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F/ 230°C and place broth in saucepan and warm up.
3. Heat up the 15”/ 35cm paella pan on a medium heat and add 3tbs/45ml of oil, once hot add the garlic. Before the garlic browns add the bowl of chicken/pork. Stir and cook until liquid is evaporated and meat begins to caramelize.
4. Add onion and cook until transparent- about 3 min.
5. Add peppers and cook for 3 min.
6. If pan is dry add some olive oil-
7. Add paprika, saffron and tomato paste. Stir and cook for about a minute.
8. Ladle in half of broth and increase heat to a boil.
9. Add rice evenly to bottom of pan, add another cup of broth.
10. Take pan off of burner and place in oven- make sure pan is level and that broth and rice are evenly distributed. Cook for 25 min. Rotating pan every 4-5 min and adding broth if the pan goes dry. DO NOT STIR ANYMORE!!
11. While paella pan is in oven, cook porterhouse in an oiled pan on med/high heat with NO spices. Flip at 4-5 min. Once both sides are nicely caramelized, remove from heat and sprinkle with Kosher salt flakes. Let rest for 10 min.
12. Remove paella pan from oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil for 10 min.
13. Place paella pan on burner and apply high heat to pan for a few (2) minutes- while rotating the pan, GENTLY....this makes the crusty rice layer called the soccarat - STOP if you smell burning rice!
14. Slice steak into thin slivers, on the diagonal and arrange on surface of rice in a radial pattern.
15. Sprinkle each piece of meat with a drop or two of olive oil.
do not burn!
16. Arrange 1tsp/5g of Harissa Aoili, parsley paste and tomatoes around the pan evenly, but separate from one another.
17. Enjoy!
Aoili Sauce Prep
1. Mix 1 cup/240ml of olive-oil- based mayo with one crushed clove of garlic, add salt to tase.
2. Add Harissa pepper paste to mayo and season- this stuff can add a lot of heat so add slowly
Parsely Paste
1. Blend parsley sugar, salt and olive oil in food processor or blender- set aside
FOR SEAFOOD VARIANT- pull the steak and do this:
Same as above but you can sub in fish stock for chicken- although chicken works well enough.
I add bits of chopped rock cod in addition to minced up bits of chicken and /or pork to the mix before it goes into the oven and then add raw shrimp or prawns and sections of squid tube and tentacles once it comes out of the oven and gets covered in aluminum foil.
I've used halibut and other white fish but it all ends up with the consistency and flavor of rock cod!
Serve with lemon wedges and don't add the harissa to the aioli.
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