Having a New Year’s party? This dish feeds a large group of people and cooks in one pan that you can even serve it in. Joe’s seafood paella is simple, yet luxurious and takes little clean up or serving prep. Stop in or call Joe’s Butcher and Fish Market for all of the ingredients on the list including the freshest seafood and locally made Cajan andouille sausage.
Paella was once known as a Spanish peasant food that allowed for numerous variations. Originally created by farmers working the fields, these hardworking people tossed whatever was available into a pan and cooked down until the flavors combined into this common day dish. Traditionally eaten out of the pot it was cooked in, each person would use their own wooden spoon alongside their fellow countryman to replenish after a day’s labor. From the dish’s humble roots of rabbit and chicken found in the fields to now the more American version founded on fresh seafood, the key is cooking the rice without stirring to obtain crusty bits packed with flavor and protein, cooked to almost smokey perfection and soaked in broth. It’s important to choose a quality rice, such as a gluten-free option like Lundberg’s found at Joe’s.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of cooked Lundberg gluten free rice
- 1 lb cajun andouille sausage
- 1 lb peeled shrimp
- 2 dozen mussels
- 2 dozen little neck clams
- 1 can of whole tomatoes, hand crushed
- 1 carton of seafood stock
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 diced onion
- 5 threads of saffron (optional)
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package while using seafood stock in place of water. This will ensure a rich seafood taste and deep flavor profile.
- Add garlic, saffron, onion, tomatoes, salt and pepper.
- Simmer without stirring.
- In a separate pan brown sausage in olive oil, then sear shrimp and reserve for later.
- After five minutes of simmering bury mussels and clams into rice.
- Introduce sausage and shrimp to marry all ingredients.
- Cook on medium heat until the shellfish have opened.
- Serve with a crusty bread or rolls found at Joe’s from Rosie’s Place or Perk Up Cafe.
Submitted by: Emily Frye – Food On The Monon
Food On The Monon
foodonthemonon@gmail.com