Paella, Portuguese Style

PingiChick's Note:

This is the original paelle recipe as it was given to me by a lady who made it for her Portuguese husband. Modifications I have made: I use chicken breasts and often omit pork, cook the sausage and slice into coins, use Basmati rice, don't peel tomatoes, add a 10 oz box of frozen artichoke hearts to the broth and rice mixture, substitute broth made with chicken granules and I add the shrimp at the end with the peas so as not to be over cooked. I bake the paella in a Dutch oven instead of a roasting pan.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 0 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 1.0 paella

• 2 (2 lb) broiler-fryer chickens , each cut into 8 pieces
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 lb lean pork , cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups onions , chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups long grain white rice , raw
• ½ teaspoon saffron strand
• 1 lb Italian sausage (about 5 sausages)
• 2 medium fresh tomatoes , peeled and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups condensed chicken broth , undiluted (3 - 10-1/2 oz size cans)
• 1 ½ lbs large shrimp , shelled and deveined
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas , thawed
• 0.5 (4 ounce) jar pimientos
• 2 lemons , cut into 8 wedges

Directions:

1. Wipe chicken with damp paper towels.
2. In hot oil in large skillet (10 inch), brown chicken, about 5 pieces at a time, until golden brown all over. Remove chicken as it browns.
3. Add pork cubes to skillet and brown well on all sides. Remove.
4. To drippings in skillet, add onion, garlic, pepper and oregano; saute, stirring, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes.
5. Add salt, rice and saffron; cook, stirring, until rice is lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in another skillet, brown sausage well, turning on all sides, about 10 minutes. Cut in half crosswise. Drain and discard grease.
7. Place chicken, sausage and pork in large roasting pan, about 17" x 11".
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Add tomatoes, bay leaf and chicken broth to rice mixture; bring to boil. Add shrimp; spoon mixture evenly over chicken and sausage in pan.
10. Bake, covered with foil (tuck foil tightly around), 1 hour.
11. If mixture seems dry, add 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle peas over top without stirring. Bake, covered, 20 minutes longer, or until chicken and pork are tender and peas are cooked.
12. To serve, turn paella into heated round serving platter or paella pan. Garnish with pimiento slices and lemon wedges.