Taking my paella on the road for a dinner party
Taking my paella on the road for a dinner party!
I love making paella on an open fire ! It’s not an ordinary dinner… it’s an event !
I’ve cooked paella for as many as 45 people for a birthday dinner party, and as few as four in the countryside of Germany. Generally when I make paella, it’s for 12 to 25 people (see recipe at the bottom). This past week I took my paellera and fire set-up to the south of Portland for an elegant dinner of eight in which I was not only the paella chef, but I was also a guest.
We had so much fun ! Once all of the prep work was done, all I had to do was hang out with my friends while I added the ingredients one at a time.
The Fire and the Pan
Making the coals takes time, usually about an hour. Once the flames reduce to mostly red hot coals, it’s time to start cooking. Keep small pieces of wood handy to add to the fire a little at a time.
This old metal bench I’ve had for many years is a perfect grate for open-fire cooking ! I can generally make anything work wherever I am, but since I was cooking in a private home close by, I decided to take my set-up which made it so easy.
My favorite paellera is a black steel pan. I have the traditional red handled shallow metal pan (pictured below with the crab) and a small version of that in France, but the deeper pan allows stirring without making a mess. It is still important to keep the mixture shallow so the rice cooks through.
Paella Proteins
My favorite paella is mixed with chicken, pork, shellfish and vegetables. Depending on what looks good at the market and my guest list, I use different ingredients every time. Last weekend, shown above, I forwent the shrimp since one friend had a shrimp allergy. But it was hardly missed because there were so many other good proteins in the dish.
Other Paella’s
A lovely seafood paella for four at a small cottage in the countryside of Germany.
When in the Pacific Northwest, Why not Dungeness Crab !
I’ve seen paella made with lobsters placed on top at the very end. They were previously cooked so only needed to warm them back up, but also they helped the rice “steam”. Since I live in the Pacific NW, I decided to try crab instead… It was fantastic!
The Saffron Sauce & Chicken Stock
The sauce is what it’s all about ! It’s very important to use high quality stock and saffron in the sauce which is mixed with cognac. Since I use chicken in my paella, I buy a few whole chickens and use the carcasses for the stock. The thighs and legs go in the paella and the breasts are saved for another time. Browning the carcasses and half cut onions creates a base richness before the water. Then I add carrots, celery, bay leaves, a garlic head cut in half, pepper corns and cover with water. After it simmers, it goes in a 240 degree oven for eight hours.
The saffron cognac mixture (which only has a few cups of stock) goes in first covering every kernel of rice and proteins, then the rest of the stock goes in a pan on the fire for easy access to add the right amount of moisture.
Now it’s time to plate up…
everyone gets one piece of chicken, and a few pieces of everything else !
The Wine
Well, it is a Spanish dish afterall… so why not have Spanish wine! Hadi made a nice batch of Sangria with a El Terrano Verdejo from Rueda. Then we moved on to some other beautiful whites. The first was from Sirenia Vinyards a lovely Verdejo with medium light body with great acidity and floral notes. Second was Nai E Señora Albariño from Rias Baixas in Galicia which was round and rich with good acidity. Then onto the reds which included one from Washington. A fantastic grenache from Maryhill Vinyards. and finally two Tempronillos from Rioja: one, Lan Reserva 2015 and the other, Viña Coterro Reserva. All lovely compliments!
Thanks to all of the guests for making it so much fun ! And for all of the other dishes and drinks that were contributed.
A special Thank You to Hadi for offering up his beautiful home and helping with the fire! And to Vonda for being my second set of hands.
Paella Recipe for 12 people
The ingredients and quantities can be altered. I make it different every time.
Paella Ingredients:
12 chicken thighs (or mix of chicken legs and thighs) marinated for at least 4 hours in:
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
6 chorizo or pork links cut into bite size pieces
2 red peppers chopped
2 sweet onions chopped
1/4 cup garlic chopped
green beans (optional) chopped
4-5 roma tomatoes chopped
2 pounds mussels
3 pounds clams
2 pounds baby calamari tentacles and tubes cut in thirds
12 giant shrimp (or equivalent of smaller shrimp)
2.2 pounds paella rice
Saffron Sauce:
1tablespoon saffron pounded with 3/4 tablespoon salt
heat with 1 cup cognac (brandy or white wine could be substituted.)
2 cups chicken stock
4 Cups Chicken stock
3 cups peas (frozen is fine)
freshly squeezed lemon juice
Method:
Early in day, marinade the chicken for 4 to 8 hours, cover and refrigerate.
Chop vegetables and clean seafood. Put each ingredient in separate bowls.
Timing. It takes about an hour or so to get the fire ready and about 1 1/2 hours to cook. So start the fire 2 1/2 hours before you want to plate up.
Take chicken out of refrigerator an hour before cooking (same time as when you start your fire).
Heat the chicken stock on stove top.
Make saffron sauce: pound the saffron with the salt in a mortar and pestle. Heat the mixture with the cognac, then add three cups of the stock to the sauce. Keep warm, but don’t reduce.
Once you start cooking on the fire…
heat paellera up, then add two or more tablespoons of canola oil.
once it’s hot enough add the chicken pieces skin side down. Be sure you hear the sizzle when you add the protein. Brown, then turn over. Then add the chorizo and brown. All together brown for about 20 minutes.
Add red peppers and onions, swirl around and cook a few more minutes.
Add garlic and tomatoes. If you are adding green beans, add them now. Mix thoroughly and let sit 2 to 3 minutes.
Add shrimp, then clams, then mussels, then squid. Mix for about 2 minutes.
Add rice allowing the kernels to be coated by the oil and moisture in the pan.
Add the saffron sauce and mix well so everything is coated with that beautiful orange.
Add stock to barely cover the rice. During mixing, try to keep the rice on the bottom and the shellfish higher.Keep the stock on the fire in case you need more.
After a few minutes, add peas on top.
Then be patient. You may need to add more stock, or press down some of the rice and possibly pull some of the shell fish up and push more rice down. Don’t mix the bottom too much because you want the bottom of the rice to have a little Tahdig.
Check in 20 minutes. The center of the pot should be bubbling. The rice should be firm and soft. Maybe another 10 minutes… depending on the amount and the fire.
Sprinkle with lemon juice… the SERVE !
Thanks For Reading !