Paella

By Keith Prickett on February 9th, 2012 (Add Comment »)

Believe it or not I actually have training in the fine culinary arts! A few years ago for my birthday I received a gift for a cooking class at The Oregon Culinary Institute. During the class I learned how to part a whole chicken, cut up onions quickly, chop garlic, make fresh pasta and indulge in the art of paella. Little did I know that a few years later I would have my own farm, raising chicken. I found out that cutting a whole chicken is vital when you raise them. Making paella is just the next logical step.

There are a few keys to making a great paella, in my opinion. First you need to have some high quality meat. In this recipe we used our own pasture-raised chicken and our neighbors pasture-raised pork (spicy sausage). Arborio rice is also vital but the aroma and flavor would not be quite the same without the saffron! It’s a special spice that creates a unique flavor and aroma.

One thing to remember is that, as spanish-recipes.com reports:

A paella is very flexible so if you don’t have the exact ingredients or if you find some of them hard to get hold of, substitute them for something similar. Getting fresh shellfish can be a problem, but you can always use frozen fish and use fish stock instead of water to increase the flavor.

Here’s what I did:

Paella – Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound spicy pasture-raised sausage
• 1 whole pasture-raised chicken, cut into 10 equal pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 whole large onion, diced
• 1 cup diced shiitake and oyster mushrooms (or whatever is in season)
• 3 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup diced, canned tomatoes (best if you use your own canned, in-season)
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 tsp saffron, ground
• 1 quart chicken broth, boiling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
2. Heat oil in paella pan (or large dutch oven)
3. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper
4. Sear chicken in hot oil on both sides until brown, remove from pan
5. Add sausage and brown
6. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally
7. Add onions, garlic, peppers and tomato, stir frequently until moisture has evaporated
8. Add rice, saffron and boiling stock.  Bring back to a boil
9. Arrange chicken and prawns on top of rice
10. Place in oven, covered for 20-25 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed
11. Serve with diced green onions as a garnish

I hope you enjoy it!
P.S. You can purchase our chicken year-round at our farm stand: 32897 Fern Road, Philomath, OR, 97370.

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