Mussell and Shrimp Paella

A couple of years ago, I was on the receiving end of a wonderful Christmas present, an authentic Spanish Paella pan! I've always been fond of Paella. My Dad made paella every summer at the beach so eating it, always triggers great memories.

I love the versatility and range of Paella. There are so many variations of Paella that you can seemingly eat it forever and not have the same dish twice. You can always add any ingredients to the dish to make it your own. One of the things that I have learned about Paella, is that the dish is all about the rice. That should be the focus of the dish and the ingredients should complement the rice not overtake it.

Ever since I received my own paella pan, I've been experimenting with different kinds of paella.  It's a very fun dish to make.  There is lots of sauteing and it smells amazing as you are cooking.  It's a great dish for entertaining, just be sure to do your prep work before the company comes over.  You don't want to be stuck in the kitchen chopping while everyone else is having fun! 

This recipe is an all seafood paella.  Mussels are one of my favorite things in the world!  I remember going to Cape Cod as a kid and picking them right off of the rocks by the canal that we took walks by.  Use fresh mussels not frozen (yuck) and if you can find it, use Bomba Rice imported from Spain.  If you can't find it, arborio rice (short grain) works well.  This recipe really highlights the flavor of the mussels and it blends perfectly with the sweetness of the rice.

One day, I will make it to Spain and eat my way across the country! Until then I will keep on trying out recipes from Penelope Casas. I have two cook books from her that I've had great luck with. This dish was based of a dish from her book Paella! Spectacular Dishes from Spain.  Now, mix up some sangria, and cook up this delicious paella.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of mussels in their shells washed and cleaned of their beards
1/2 cup of dry white wine
2 1/2 cups of clam juice or seafood stock

Check out my mussells!

1/3 teaspoon of crumbled saffron threads
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Spanish onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of smoked Spanish hot smoked paprika (if you can't find it regular paprika will do)
1 1/2 of bomba rice or arborio short grain rice
around 14 Sugar Snap Peas
1 small can of pimento strips

Directions:
Reserve around 14 mussels and place aside.  Place the wine into a large skillet with a tight fitting lid add the remaining mussels, cover and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes or until most of the mussels have opened.  Discard all of the mussels that did not open.  Reserve all of the fluid that the mussels cooked in and strain into a large liquid measuring cup.  Top off the reserved broth with enough clam juice to make 4 cups of liquid.  Return the broth mixture to the pan, place over medium low heat and add the saffron.  Keep the liquid mixture warm but do not bring it to a boil.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Remove the cooked mussels from the shells and chop the mussels coarsely.  In a large paella pan or skillet, add the olive oil and place over medium high heat.  Add the shrimp and cook for about one minute, stirring constantly.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the pan.  Add the bell pepper, garlic, onion, rosemary, salt.  Lower the pan to medium heat and cook for about 4 minutes.

Stir in the paprika and rice and mix until the rice is well coated with oil.  Add the broth to the pan and bring to a boil.  Boil the mixture for about 2 minutes and then add the chopped egg and shrimp.  Continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture is not soupy but so there is enough liquid left to cook the rice.  If your burner is not large enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan, rotate the pan occasionally while cooking.


Top the rice mixture with the uncooked mussels, peas and sliced pimentos and place in the oven.  Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked through. 

Remove the pan from the oven and place on a burner over high heat rotating the pan constantly for 1 to 3 minutes.  This will crisp the bottom layer of rice and form the soccarat, which is the most coveted part of the paella in Spain.  Be careful not to burn the rice.  You want the rice to be a nice golden brown.  This step is optional.  A nice way to serve this dish is family style, right out of the paella pan.

Invite over your friends, mix up a pitcher of sangria and enjoy!