Paella and a Stir Fry

Only two recipes this week, but they're reallly good!

Paella Mixta

Another in a long list of dishes I haven't made in years. Back in the Dark Ages, I made this the first few times in a stock pot rather than a wide, shallow pan! Then I got a real paella pan and had a blast!  Paella is a great party dish  because it serves quite a few people without a great deal of hassle.  The amounts below serve 6-8 hungry adults.

Paella is an old Spanish dish, originating around the area of Valencia on the east coast. The culinary masters of New Orleans, America's first foodie city, took the concept, changed it up a bit (including the aforesaid deep cooking vessel) and called it Jambalaya – rice cooked up through layers of “anything that swims, crawls, flies or walks”, plus celery, onion and bell pepper.

We had our neighbors over for dinner on Saturday, and it was an excuse for me to break out the paella pan for the first time in ages. There is a huge variety of paella recipes, the one I made would be called Paella Mixta – meat and seafood and vegetables; but you can have all seafood, all veggies and many many more. The common ingredients between varieties are white rice and saffron. Beans of one kind or another are also very common. Here's everything you need:

2 cups Valencia rice (short grain rice is more sticky than long grain; better for paella)

1 Red Bell

1 Green Bell

2 cans cooked Beans (I used Cargamanto or Cranberry beans, but any bean will do)

2 Chicken Breasts

1 lb Shrimp

1 link (9”) Andouille Sausage

1 Red Onion, diced

2 Roma tomatoes

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 pinch Saffron (Don't have saffron, the ubiquitous Turmeric will do if you must.)

 Sally and I both have paella pans which are 16"-18" in diameter.  If you don't have a paella pan, use the widest, shallowest skillet you have.  If you've only got a 12" skillet, cut the ingredient amounts in half, and make dinner for 3 or 4 rather than 6-8.  FWIW, you can also cook a paella over your grill instead of the stove top.

Triage, or mis en place as the French say is really important to the simple and successful creation of this dish.  Cut up everything and put it in bowls where you can access it quickly and easily.  Here's my mis en place:

 Slice the sausage into coins. Peel the shrimp, or not (I do). Cut the chicken into strips or bite sized pieces. Slice the onion, bell peppers and tomatoes. 

Paella is all about layers – layers of flavors and ingredients. The bottom layer is invariably rice. Rice with that pinch of saffron. Let the rice start to brown just a bit, then add about two cups of water or broth.

Now start  layering the other ingredients.  I like to alternate layers of meat and veg, saving the shrimp (or other delicate seafood) until last.

I put down the chicken first, as it takes longest to cook. That's the only thing you touch after it goes in the pan. After I turned the chicken over, I added the bell peppers and garlic.

After that it's add the sausage, followed by the tomatoes beans and onions.  About now you'll need to add more water or broth, because the rice will have absorbed the first lot.

 By now the rice should be mostly cooked. If not, add more liquid and continue simmering. When the rice is cooked, let the pan go dry but try not to let things burn.  In the last few minutes add the shrimp as they take only a couple minutes to cook.

One of the delights for paella aficianados is the layer of crusty toasted (some say burnt) rice at the bottom of the pan, called socarrat.

Serve with crusty bread and butter, or pa amb tomquet -- toast rubbed with raw garlic and tomato, for sopping up any errant juices.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

 I needed something different to do with broccoli the other night, and remembered this dish -- my first ever stir fry, copied from Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook, the old Saturday morning PBS show that was my introduction to Asian cooking.  Every week, sifu Yan would say  "If Yan Can Cook, you can too!"   Serves two.

I doctor my Beef & Broccoli up with some green onion, snowpea pods, and mushrooms.

1/3 lb Deli Roast Beef sliced 1/8" thin

1 head Broccoli, florettes trimmed off

2 Green Onions, sliced thin

1/2 cup chopped Snow Pea Pods

1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms

Sauce:

1/4 cup low sodium Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce

2 Tbsp Rice Wine

2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

While your wok or large skillet is heating as hot as it will go, slice the beef into strips, trim the broccoli, and other ingredients.  In a cup combine the liquids for the sauce.

Toss is a tablespoon or two (no more) of EVOO, and swirl it in the pan.  Add the beef strips and toss them around for a minute or three.  Remove from the pan and reserve.  Now stir fry the veggies for a minute or two.  Add the beef back to the pan, stir, then pour the sauce overall.  Cook another minute or two until the sauce starts to thicken, then serve.   Takes less time to prepare than it takes my rice cooker to make a small pot of rice.

I prefer Deli sliced beef for three reasons.  One, it's already mostly cooked, making my job easier.  Two it's much more tender than that stuff sold in the meat department as Beef For Stir Fry. Three, you can buy as much or little beef as you need, not just a plastic wrapped package of 'trimmings'.