Mario Batali's Paella

Submitted by darthlaurie

"Found this on Oprah.com. Mario was talking about a PBS show he did where he drove through Spain (with Gwyneth Paltrow). This is a recipe he cooked on the show. What Mario says: "It's difficult to duplicate the experience of cooking paella with Manuelo outdoors in Valencia over burning embers of wood from orange trees, but you could do it on a grill on high heat. Most important, buy a proper pan (available at www.latienda.com), cook it a little longer than you think, and don't stir! If you are cooking it indoors on the stove, be generous with the supersmoky pimentón since it will provide the requisite almost-but-not-quite-burned flavor. Remember, paella is a blank canvas. You can add any fish, meat or vegetables into your paella according to your preferences. Add meats like sausage, chicken and chorizo; fish like prawns, calamari, clams, mussels and scampi; and vegetables like peppers, onions, carrots, peas, celery and zucchini.""

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 10 medium chicken drumsticks
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups medium shrimp, enough for about 5 per person
• 1 medium Spanish onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1⁄2 cup pureed ripe tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon saffron thread
• 2 tablespoons sweet pimientos (Spanish smoked paprika)
• 4 quarts chicken stock
• 2 cups bomba or other short-grain rice
• 1 lb manila clams, scrubbed
• 1 cup fresh peas
• 10 asparagus spears, stalks cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1 inch piece sausage

directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400°. Place the drumsticks on a baking sheet and season all over with salt and extra-virgin olive oil. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes and set aside.
2. In the meantime, heat a 14- to 18-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until smoking. Add the shrimp and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Push the onions into the center of the pan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the salt around the edges of the pan.
3. Add the tomato puree, stirring it into the onions, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the remaining salt, the saffron, pimentón and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir well to distribute it evenly. Add clams, drumsticks, arranging them nicely throughout the pan. Then add the peas and asparagus and bring the stock back to a boil, and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and add it if needed, then cook, again without stirring, for 10 more minutes, or until the liquid is almost completely absorbed and the pan starts to make a crackling noise (don't worry, this is what you want).
4. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[rahmanm]

Many people have sent correction to the recipe error on several web sites. It should state 4 cups & NOT 4 quarts of Chicken Stock. This is a terrible recipe and anyone serious about Paella should do a quick Wikapedia search for history of Paella. Onion is not used but Garlic is. Sausage is not used in paella from Valencia, the region where this dish comes from. I attended cooking class with Rafael, owner and chef at the Matandeta located in the Albufera national park and mentioned in the Oprah show. Rafael is mortified by the recipe that some think he may have provided to Mario. There are many rice dishes in Spain and some contain sausage and ribs & more, but Paella is a traditional Valencian dish and there are accepted meat and seafood paellas. Please correct the recipe or delete from the list.

 

[gourmetspiceblend]

I completely agree with Chef #964006. He / She is absolutely correct. This was a very expensive and embarrassing mistake. An 18" paella pan will not even hold 4 quarts of stock and all of the other ingredients. Since it is never covered, most of the ingredients on top remain uncooked. I'm sure Mario Batali makes an awesome paella, but this is not it.

 

[jeffkap]

The recipe is riddled with errors. The four quarts of chicken stock is way too much, the 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika is way too much. It lists 1 tsp of salt in the ingredients but in the recipe it tells you to put in 2 tablespoons. It lists sausage but never tells you to put it in. It has you prepare shrimp but never tells you to put it in. I made this after buying a paella pan, fresh shrimp, clams and scallops and was left with an inedible salt, overpowering smoked paprika tasting watery soup. Thi sis not the fault of the person who posted the recipe on this site. The fault is whoever posted this on Oprah's website.