Portuguese Paella

Kathleen White

A very good and elegant dinner to serve to quest you want to impress. Sean’s first fish Aug. 2008

ingredients

SAFFRON RICE:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large Spanish onion diced
4 cups long grain rice
pinch of saffron
8 cups hot chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
PAELLA:
4 plum tomatoes, sliced in half long way
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 whole chickens
4 lobsters (1 1/2 lb. each)
1/2 pound linguisa cut into 2 inch slices
salt and pepper
8 medium shrimp peeled and deveined
saffron rice (above recipe)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup fresh peas (or frozen)
24 little neck clams scrubbed
4 tablespoons lemon aioli (recipe follows)
chopped flat leaf parsley

directions

1
Directions for the saffron rice: Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the saffron to the simmering stock and let cook for 1 minute. Add the hot stock to the rice and let come to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover the pan and let cook for 15 to 18 minutes, remove cover and fluff with a fork.
2
LEMON AIOLI:
3
4 cloves garlic, peeled,
4
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5
2 egg yolks
6
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
7
1 tablespoon lemon zest
8
3/4 cup olive oil
9
freshly ground white pepper
10
Place the garlic, salt, yolks, lemon juice and zest in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, slowly add the oil drop by drop at first, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
11
To make the paella: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with the honey and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast until soft. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large ovenproof pan until almost smoking. Season chickens with salt and pepper to taste, place in the pan and brown all sides. Degrease the pan and place in the oven and roast chickens until cooked through 25 to 30 minutes, then cut into quarters. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lobsters and cover the pot. Bring the water back to the boil, reduce the heat, and continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked. Cook the linguisa in a medium saute pan over medium high heat until browned. Remove the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan or paella pan until almost smoking. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute for until cooked 2 or 3 minutes. Add the rice, stock, peas, tomatoes, chicken, lobsters, and linguisa stir to combine. Add the clams. Cover the pot and continue cooking until the clams and mussels open. Fold in the parsley and lemon aioli and mix until combined, adjust seasonings serve immediately.