Paella Valenciana
This is my version of this delicious and famous Spanish dish. The original version is made with chicken, sausage, fish and shellfish. My version has all of these items but you can adjust yours by omitting anything you don’t like. If you don’t eat clams, don’t use them. If you don’t want any seafood then you can keep it to only chicken and/or sausage. There is no wrong way to prepare this wonderful rice-based dish so be creative and make something you know your family and guests will love.
Ingredients
Rice
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- 1 Large Diced Onion
- 3 cloves Minced Garlic
- 3 cups Basmati Rice
- 1 bottle Clam Juice
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
- Water (to make 6 cups of total liquid)
- ½ tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Crushed Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Saffron Threads (or 2 packets of Goya's Sazón with coloring)
Additions
- 2 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (cleaned and cut into 2" cubes)
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- ¼ tsp Salt
- Juice of One Lime
- ½ lb Diced Chorizo (if raw sauté until cooked)
- 1 lb Shrimp (raw, cleaned and deveined - 21 ct. is perfect)
- 1 lb Sea Scallops
- 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 lb Lobster Meat (cut into 2" chunks)
- 1 cup Frozen Peas
- 1 jar Roasted Red Peppers (drained and cut into slices)
- 12 Black Mussels (cleaned)
- 12 Clams (cleaned and unopened)
- Olive Oil (drizzle)
- Fresh Lime Juice (drizzle)
Pimento Sauce
- 1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
- 2 clove Garlic
- 1 jar Pimentos (small jar - drained)
- 2 tbsp Hot Sauce
- 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions
Rice
- In large oven-proof sauté pan (paella pan if you have one) sauté Olive Oil, Onion and Garlic. Add Basmati Rice and cook about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rice brown.
- In a large measuring bowl make 6 cups of total liquid by adding Clam Juice, Chicken Stock, Water, Salt, Black Pepper and Saffron Threads.
- Add flavored liquid to rice and cook covered until liquid is just absorbed. Remove from heat.
Additions
- Sauté chicken cubes in Olive Oil, Salt and Lime Juice for 3-5 minutes just to get a little color. The chicken will not be fully cooked so don't taste.
- Add chicken cubes to rice and gently stir.
- Add Chorizo, Shrimp, Sea Scallops, Lobster Meat, Frozen Peas and Roasted Red Reppers. Gently fold into rice.
- Place Black Mussels and Clams (unopened) around rice tucked slightly in the rice. Sprinkle with a drizzle of Olive Oil and Fresh Lime Juice.
- Place in 350℉ oven and bake until rice is heated through, shrimp are pink, clams and mussels are open - approximately 30 minutes. Serve with wedges and Pimento Sauce to spoon on top of paella.
Pimento Sauce
- In processor place Mayonnaise, Garlic, Pimentos, Hot Sauce and Old Bay Seasoning and blend.
