Paella (serves 6)

by JAUME (jcanaves@jeeves.UCSD.EDU)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-5 tbsps minced fresh parsley
1 generous pinch of saffron
2 tbsps of chicken bullion
3 skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in large chunks
2 green peppers, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tsp of yellow food coloring (optional -- saffron is very expensive, a pinch of it is all you need for taste but a richer color is desired)
8 oz tomatoe sauce
1 tsp sugar
4 cups of rice
7 cups of water
salt
1/2 lb - 1 lb shrimp, leave shell on
1 lb scallops

Directions:
Saute onion, parsley, and garlic in olive oil until the onion begins to become transparent. Add saffron, chicken bullion, chicken, peppers and saute until chicken has become white. Add tomatoe sauce, sugar, food coloring. Stir. Add rice & water and bring to boil. Salt to taste. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp & scallops, boil an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Simmer 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. If the rice appears to be getting too dry during the last 10 minutes, add more water. If the rice is too wet at the end of the 10 minutes, uncover and evaporate unwanted liquid.


Different Paellas:
The reason you have found paella to be radically different depending where you get it is that it's another of these wonderful "collect everything in the fridge and throw it in the pot" dishes. The following is sort of an outline -- improvise to suit your own tastes. Quantities, except for the rice and broth, are extremely flexible.

Phase I - Make the chicken & broth
Put 3lb or so of chicken parts (or a whole fryer) in about 10 cups of water with salt and pepper. Add a couple of bay leaves and a few whole cloves. You can also add things like onion, garlic, celery, carrot, leeks, etc as you would when making chicken soup. Cook until the chicken is tender. Strain & save the broth, and discard (or eat) all the solid bits except the chicken meat and the bay leaves. Tear the chicken into manageable pieces and set aside. (I've had paella where the chicken was left on the bones, and I find it rather difficult to eat.)

Phase II - Things to be sauteed 
olive oil (for sauteeing)
garlic, several cloves, sliced, crushed or minced
onion, 1 med to large, chopped
1 large bell pepper, finely diced (you could add a small hot pepper
                                        also if you felt like it)
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped, left sitting in some wine
chorizo, cut into 1/4" slices (i've used kielbasa when i can't get
                                chorizo - it doesn't matter as long as
                                it's that kind of firm sausage)
shrimp, shelled and deveined
Heat some olive oil over high heat in a *large* pan (they actually sell paella pans, but you can use a large saute pan or even a wok). Add the garlic and saute until light brown. Add the onions, cook until translucent. Add the pepper, cook a few minutes more. Add the sausage and shrimp. When the shrimp are done (they've *just* turned kind of orange-red-pink and are curled up -- don't overcook them), add the tomatoes and their wine. Turn the heat down a bit.

Phase III -- The Wet Part
You will need:
the chicken broth, chicken & bay leaves from Phase I
a small sack (a couple pounds, I guess) of live mussels and/or clams
3 cups rice
oregano, thyme, ground pepper (black or white, a little cayenne if you like) saffron

Prepare the shellfish (remove their beards, wash the shells, make sure none of them are dead). Put roughly six cups of broth into the pan with the cooked veggies, sausage and shrimp. Add spices to taste (don't forget the bay leaves). The saffron should be maybe 2-3 threads -- it's the big flavor here. Stir thoroughly, then add the shellfish. Cook for a few minutes, and the shellfish should start to open. When they are well on their way, start sprinkling the rice over the mixture, gently folding it in as you go. Be careful from this point on not to mangle the shellfish -- you don't want a lot of empty shells when you're done. When all the rice is in the dish, let it cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the broth and the cooked chicken pieces. Continue cooking until the rice is "right" -- tender, not too dry, not too wet. Take out the bay leaves (or don't bother if it's just you).

I've had this with peas in it, which was quite good. You can use any kind of shellfish, vary the veggies, change the spices, substitute bite sized pieces of boneless pork for the sausage, etc etc. Use your imagination and have fun!

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