Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes by Kaminsky Peter & Kaminsky Peter & Rama Marie & Rama Marie

Author:Kaminsky, Peter & Kaminsky, Peter & Rama, Marie & Rama, Marie [Kaminsky, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2013-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

Paella with Chicken and Bacon

Serves 6

Paella is one of those dishes, like pizza, that everyone seems to like. Go ahead and mention paella to a friend; we’re willing to bet you will raise an affectionate smile. There is something about the almost magical way that the juices in all the ingredients swell into the rice to produce a creamy, savory, elegant, and complex flavor that is just short of divine. The soccarat—or rice crust—that forms where the rice comes in contact with the cooking vessel is as delicious as the crust on a thick, charbroiled steak. (Please note, if you don’t get a crusty soccarat, which happens to the best of us, the paella will still be delicious.) Some people shy away from using saffron because it is an expensive ingredient but, in this dish, the experience is truly worth it. And using bacon in place of the traditional Spanish chorizo, a peppery sausage, provides smoky, savory drippings for sautéing the chicken and shrimp, giving them more flavor!

5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide pieces

Extra-virgin olive oil, if necessary

5 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock, or more as necessary

½ cup dry white wine

12 colossal shrimp (1¼ to 1½ pounds), peeled and deveined, shells reserved for the stock

2 large pinches saffron threads, crumbled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 skinless, boneless organic chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds total)

½ large onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater

2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, cut in half and grated on the largest holes of a box grater (skin discarded)

6 medium-size garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon seeded and diced jalapeño pepper

½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (Spanish paprika)

1⅔ cups Arborio rice

18 mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see page 171)

1 whole roasted red bell pepper, cut into long 1-inch-wide strips

1 cup frozen peas

⅓ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro

1 Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the bacon is browned and most of the fat is rendered, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour all of the bacon fat into a small bowl. Add enough olive oil to the bacon fat to measure ¼ cup and set it aside.

2 Place 4¼ cups of the chicken stock in a medium-size saucepan. Cover the pan and let the stock come to a boil over high heat. Add the white wine and shrimp shells and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let simmer, partially covered, until the shrimp shells impart their flavor, about 10 minutes. Strain the stock and return it to the saucepan. Add the saffron, season with salt and black pepper to taste, and set the shrimp stock aside.

3 Trim any excess fat off the chicken thighs. Cut any large pieces in half crosswise. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper to taste. Pour the reserved ¼ cup of fat into a 13- to 14-inch paella pan and heat over medium-high heat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.