Maria’s Paella

Directions

Ingredients :

½ cup olive oil

1 ¼ pounds chicken thighs

½ cup onion

diced

2 cloves garlic

chopped

½ green bell pepper

diced

½ red bell pepper

diced

¼ pound calamari rings

¼ pound small shrimp – peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons saffron threads

1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

½ cup peas

3 cups long grain rice

6 cups water

6 large clams in shell

scrubbed

6 jumbo shrimp in shells (21-25 per lb.)

6 large sea scallops

6 wedges lemon

Methods :

Heat olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Place chicken thighs skin-side down into oil and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes; set aside.

Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 1 minute. Add green and red bell peppers, calamari, and small shrimp; cook for 2 minutes more.

Stir in salt, saffron, tomatoes, peas, rice, and water until well combined. Add chicken thighs, and simmer for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to make sure rice does not stick.

Decoratively nestle clams and jumbo shrimp into the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Place the scallops into the paella, recover, and continue simmering until the rice is tender and the scallops firm and opaque, about 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges to serve.