Kate's Paella with Tomatoes

prep time:: 15 minutes
total time:: 45 minutes

Makes 4 - 6 servings

This is a wonderful, easy and different take on paella that obviously can only be made when the best tomatoes are in season. If you’d like you can serve this with a side of grilled spanish sausages. You must use good spanish paprika (the kind in the pretty little cans)

ingredients

3 1/2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 Tblsp minced garlic
1 Tblsp tomato paste
Large pinch of saffron threads
2 teasp Spanish “pimenton” (smoked paprika)preferably 1 teasp “Hot” and 1 teasp “Sweet”
2 cups Spanish rice
Minced Parsley for garnish

directions

1
1. Preheat Oven to 450 degrees. Warm stock. Put tomato wedges in a medium bowl, sprinkle wth salt and pepper and drizzle the wedges with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Toss to coat.
2
2. Put remaining oil in paella pan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften - about 3 - 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and the saffron an paprika and cook for a minute more. Add the rice and cook stirring occasionally, until the rice is shiny, another minute or two. Add the stock and stir until combined.
3
3. Put the tomato wedges on top of the rice and drizzle with the the juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl. Put the pan in the oven and roast undisturbed for 15 minutes. Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, return pan to oven for another 5 minutes. If it is still dry but not quite done add a small amount of stock or water or wine. When the rice is cooked, turn the oven OFF and the pan sit in the oven for 5 - 15 minutes.
4
4. Remove the pan from the oven, put the pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust - this is called the “soccarat” and is highly valued in Spain - for you southerners it’s the same as the grits that stick to the bottom of the pan!
5
5. Sprinkle with parsley for service.

notes

We have started making this on the grill (we have a huge Weber charcoal grill) - no oven and it gets a nice crust on the bottom. Adapated from Mark Bittman, New York Times column

Source: Kate