Ingredients

• 6 oz (170 g) chorizo sausages
• 4 chicken legs
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) saffron threads
• 3 cups (750 mL) warm chicken stock
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) tomatoes
• 1 small sweet green pepper, diced
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) short-grain rice
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) frozen peas
• 12 oz (340 g) clams
• 2 green onions, minced
• 8 lemon wedges

Preparation

Cut sausage into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices. Remove skin from chicken; trim off fat. Cut through each chicken leg at joint to separate thigh from drumstick.

In large paella pan or wide deep skillet, heat oil over high heat; cook sausage, stirring, until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter. Add chicken to pan; cook over medium heat until browned, 7 to 10 minutes per side. Add to platter.

Stir saffron into chicken stock; set aside. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. Add stock mixture, tomatoes and green pepper; bring to boil, breaking up tomatoes with spoon and stirring to scrape up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Stir in rice, salt and pepper. Add chicken; simmer gently over low heat, stirring often, for 20 minutes. Gently stir in peas and sausage.

Meanwhile, scrub clams under cold running water. Discards any clams with cracked shells or ones that do not close when tapped. Nestle clams in rice until almost covered; cook over low heat until rice is tender and clams are open, 7 to 10 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Garnish with onions and lemon wedges.

This was how the Paella dish originated from. This was not a traditional dish until the late 19th Century but the history of how it was introduced into and eventually became a part of Spanish culture is an interesting one. The word Paella derived from the Spanish word, ´La Paella´, which is actually the pan in which the rice dish is cooked, originally always made of iron. During the centuries following the establishment of rice in Spain, the peasants of Valencia would use the paella pan to cook rice with easily available ingredients from the countryside: tomatoes, onions, fish and snails.

There were soon many variations of this dish, but it was all made the same way. It was often cooked in large quantities, paella still tastes as good the day after cooking, and can be enjoyed cold on picnics or heated up when required. The cooking of the perfect paella can be quite a laborious task, and unless there was an expert that had focuses a lot of their time and energy to cook this dish was available the perfect paella was almost impossible to make. After a few years after this dish originated, ‘La Paella’ gained so much popularity that even higher social hierarchies beyond peasants were desiring the taste of this dish.

Eventually “La Paella” spread throughout the nation drawing visitors from around the world to try this remarkable dish and learn its secret recipes that make this dish so delicious and filled with aroma. As the Spanish standard of living improved in the 19th century, people were able to incorporate better ingredients in their paellas, including rabbit, snail, duck, chicken, various beans, tomatoes and artichokes. Seafood paella was developed by Valencians living along the Mediterranean coast and substituting seafood for meat and beans. Spaniards from other regions added seafood to the original recipe to create the popular mixed paella. Eventually the recipe spread out of Spain and developed local variations around the world making it a world renowned dish that is still enjoyed by many individuals today.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of a firm white fish cut into chunks (in Punta Cana would probably be Dorado, but Monkfish or Cod would be fine)
• 5 baby squid: cleaned and cut into strips
• 1 cup cleaned shrimp
• A couple dozen mussels or clams
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 sweet pepper: julienned
• 1 small red onion: finely chopped
• 4 small tomatoes cut in quarters
• ¼ cup of shredded coconut (optional)
• 1 cup of criolla (rice)
• 2 cups of fish stock
• ½ cup of white wine
• 4 tablespoons oil
• ½ tspn saffron
• Pinch of dried chilis
• Salt & pepper to taste

If you have a paella pan use it for this Caribbean paella recipe, if not any casserole dish that can go on the stove top and in the oven will do. Preheat oven to 400 degrees celsius

Heat the fish stock (close to boiling): add the saffron and the dried chilis and set aside

Season the fish with salt & pepper Saute (with 4 tblspns of oil) fish with onion, pepper, coconut for five minutes Add tomatoes, squid, and ¼ of the shrimp Stir in rice making sure that it all gets coated with juices from the pan. Add fish stock and wine Loosely cover with tin foil and cook in over for around 40 minutes

Remove from oven and add remaining shrimp and the mussels or clams (push mussels lightly into other ingredients) Return to oven for another ten minutes.

(Serves 4)

Minutes to Prepare: 25
Minutes to Cook: 30
Number of Servings: 2

Ingredients
1 3/4 lb live lobster
1 TBS diced shallot
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 ribs celery diced(1/2 cup)
2 roma tomatos, seeded and diced
1 TBS chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 TBS sliced fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/2 lobster broth (legs, herb stems, extra stalk of celery, bay leaf, 1 TBS tomato paste)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 7oz. package Miracle Noodle Rice

Directions
Place a 2qt pot of water on the stove to boil.

Prepare the lobster: Put a Knife in the back of its head about 1” behind the eyes. Scramble the brain so he cant feel what’s going to happen next.

Rip off the arms with claws and the tail and put into lightly boiling/simmering water for 8 minutes. Place parts in ice water bath to chill thoroughly. Pull meat from shell.

Tear the legs section out of the body by sliding your thumb into the whole where the tail was and put it on the underside of the shell. Insert the other thumb over the inside of the legs, grab the underside of the legs with your fingers and pull the legs out from the shell. Discard the innards and chop leg section into 4 pieces.

Take legs, tarragon stems, basil stems, bay leaf, celery stalk and put them in a pot with 3 cups of water and the tomato paste.

Bring to a boil and reduce to 1 cup. Filter/Strain through a mesh sieve with cheese cloth on the inside of the sieve.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients, including the Miracle Noodle Rice according to the package directions.

In a 12 inch saute pan. Heat the pan to medium high heat and add the olive oil.
Add celery, garlic and shallot. Sauté until softened. Add the tomatoes and lobster meat and saute to heat it up.

Add the saffron threads and the stock and bring to a low boil.

Add herbs and Miracle Rice return to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add more broth if desired.
Serve in 2 bowls.

Serving Size: Makes 2 Servings

Number of Servings: 2

*Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user HELLOJODY.

*submit in health section

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 157.5
Total Fat: 5.6 g
Cholesterol: 94.7 mg
Sodium: 386.9 mg
Total Carbs: 7.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
Protein: 20.1 g