Every recipe or dish has certain components but I always like to encourage to cultivate it to make it your own by adding or substituting what you and your friends/family enjoy.
Ideally in a Paella pan OR you can use a cast iron skillet OR a dutch oven, just a sturdy heavier pan.
Ingredients:
~ 1 pound shrimp (marinade with a seasoning oil - ideally olive oil & maybe a few crushed pepper flakes (about 1 TBSP))
~ a bag of mussels (1-2lbs or to your liking)
~ 1-2 links of chorizo
~ 1 diced onion
~ 1-2 peppers (bell Or hot peppers if you like it spicy)
~ 1 TBSP of smoked paprika
~ 1 TBSP of grated or minced garlic (about 2-3 cloves, or to your liking)
~ 1 teas of salt
~ 1 pinch of saffron (about a teaspoon)
~ 1-2 citrus fruits cut into wedges for garnish and flavor.
~ 2 cups of rice (short grain, typically labeled as bomba or paella rice)
(double the amount of liquid per rice) we usually use 2 cups mussel or clam or chicken broth and 2 cups of chunky tomato sauce) ie: you could do 3 cups broth and 1 cup tomato also. (If you have 3 cups of rice, you want 6 cups of liquid, just double the amount of liquid, if that makes sense.)
Start by adding 2-3 TBSP of any neutral oil & then adding the garlic, all dry seasonings and the rice (dry) and begin 'toasting' the rice along with onions & chorizo. Once that is all stirred and mixed together, start layering the other liquid ingredients followed by the shrimp, the mussels (or clams if you chose clams) and then the citrus wedges. Let everything simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through and the rice is cooked all the way. You will notice a crust on the bottom of your pan forming which is what you want, the 'socarrat' which is the essence of a Paella. That almost burnt toasted crust of a bottom. YUM! The last thing you can add as a garnish if you wish is a handful of chopped parsley or chives or a mixture of both.
