Paella: Scallops, Shrimp & Cod

I've been making variations on Paella ever since my old friend John Sutterby introduced me to the dish at a dinner party in the mid-90s. Then a few years later I had the best version I've ever had, in Granada, Espana. Right around then, other friends introduced me to Risotto, and ever since, I've been doing versions that blend both dishes. Mostly I use seafood, but sausage works well in tandem with seafood, particularly Spanish chorizo. This version features scallops, shrimp & cod: any sort of shellfish works great. We got some good deals recently on frozen seafood which was the inspiration for this.

Robin's got a Paella pan that's pretty big, but I've found I like to make a big enough batch to have a decent amount of leftovers. So, lately, I've sauteed the vegetables first then started the rice separately. In this case, I cooked half a large yellow onion and most of the greens of two leeks, cut into centimeter sized pieces, in some light oil, then added pieces from a red bell pepper, and slices of green beans. I should have bought some asparagus since it's in season here now. Cook until there's a bit of a char on them, fairly tender, but not hammered.

I keep a Black Truffle in Arborio Rice in a glass jar in the fridge. Once I've cleared the pan of the cooked vegetables, I add more oil to the pan, then a whole bunch of Arborio Rice (probably 2-3 cups), and let it saute in the oil, occasionally stirring for even coverage & to keep from sticking. I learned these rice techniques from making Risotto. 

Sometimes I laugh at all the times some hotshot chef tried to tell me about the "proper" or "right" way to make rice. (Which, in turn, makes me think of all the "correct" ways to make enchiladas) When it comes to Risotto, you'll want to saute the dry rice in oil for a few minutes first, making sure all of it gets cooked enough so the grains are translucent. 

Now, you're ready to start adding some sort of rich stock. Earlier this week, Robin made some stock using organic chicken. Really, really nice stock it is, lemme tell you--the rich flavor and texture of the final result speaks for itself. Take the time to make real stock, including bones. Those bullion cubes suck--most pre-made stocks are over-salted. You might as well buy a bucket of KFC and chop it up. Nothing works as well as real homemade stock. Escoffier talks about this subject at length, because all the Mother Sauces start with good stock made from bones of high quality animals.

OK, so back to the rice: once translucent, ladle enough stock on top to cover the rice, then stir and stir. Repeat. Repeat.

After the first ladle or two, add a finely minced salt-cured anchovy. Here's one from a can that I bought a year ago from Genova Deli in Temescal. I bet Ed Ward's used all of his by now.

Ahead of time, I put a generous pinch of Persian Saffron in some water to hydrate, and zested half a Meyer Lemon I picked from our tree (using the juice later to squeeze over the fish). You'll wanna add these ingredients about halfway through the ladling of stock into the rice.

When the rice has just about absorbed most of stock that it can, that's when you'll wanna add the fish, and ladle that last bit of stock over the top, maybe some olive oil too as a blessing. I usually cover the pan to steam the fish. You don't want it overcooked though. Keep an eye on it. 

Serve the rice, with sauteed vegetables on top. Note that I've sprinkled some Smoked Paprika on top. Some folks like to add sliced almonds on top as well.