La Tapa Paella for Two

Recipe comes from La Tapa restaurant, cruz Bay.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons  vegetable oil

• For the Rice

• 1⁄4 cup carrot, finely diced
• 1⁄4 cup  white onion, finely diced
• 1⁄4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1⁄2 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1  pinch saffron
• 4  bay leaves
• 2  cups long grain rice
•  olive oil
•  chicken stock

• For the Paella

• 4  slices hot Italian sausage or 4  slices chorizo sausage
• 4  ounces chicken pieces, your choice of chicken parts with skin
• 4  shrimp, with head on, unpeeled
• 2  ounces lobster meat
• 2  ounces  fish
• 2  ounces  sliced  calamari, tentacles kept whole
• 8  mussels, preferably black
• 4  frozen whole cooked crawfish
•  salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1  dash habanero sauce
• 1  sprig fresh thyme
• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• 1⁄4 cup  frozen peas
• 2  leeks, thinly sliced
•  red pepper, thinly sliced
•  lemon wedge (optional)
•  fresh cilantro, sliced (optional)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and pepper; sauté for one minute. Add the garlic, saffron, bay leaves; pour in the rice. Stir well, adding a small amount of olive oil to coat rice, then sauté until rice is translucent.
2. Add enough chicken stock to submerge rice by one inch. Simmer with lid on until al dente. Remove rice from pot and spread out on large sheet pan so that rice stops cooking.
3. Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees F. In a wok sauté the sausage and chicken to brown; then add the shrimp, lobster, fish, calamari, mussels and crawfish.
4. Cook until lightly sautéed; add the salt, pepper, habanera hot sauce, thyme, and white wine.
5. Top with previously cooked rice; add the peas, leeks and red peppers. Cover and cook in center of oven for approximately 5-10 min., allowing the steam to cook everything through and the rice to absorb all the flavors.
6. To serve place paella in preheated ceramic bowl. Garnish with several lemon wedges and cilantro.