Paella

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Paprika (Chicken Spice Mix)
• 2 teaspoons oregano (Chicken Spice Mix)
• Some kosher salt (Chicken Spice Mix)
• Some ground pepper (Chicken Spice Mix)
• 2-3 pounds chicken cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1-2 pound Chorizo or Ham (not honey ham, use Virginia ham or black forest)
• 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp ground Pepper
• 1 Spanish Onion, diced
• 2-3 Bell peppers, green red or yellow, diced
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1 Bunch parsley leaves, chopped
• 10 oz crushed peeled tomatoes
• 3 cups Spanish rice (short grain)
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (or use water if you are adding seafood)
• Generous pinch Saffron
• 1 cup peas
• String beans

Steps

1. Rub Spice mix over chicken and let marinate for 1 hour.
2. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Saute ham or chorizo until browned, remove and set aside.
3. Cook chicken and brown on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Add some more oil to pan. Saute onions, parsley, and bell peppers for a few minutes until onions are clear. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit. Add in rice and stir-fry to coat grains for a minute or so.
6. Pour in chicken broth, chicken, ham, chorizo, saffron, and add water if necessary so there is plenty of water for the rice to absorb.
7. Cook uncovered for about 40 minutes until paella has the correct consistency, stirring every 10 minutes.
8. When done, it should be moist and a little bit liquidy. It should not be dry, or soupy.
9. If you are cooking in a shallow paella pan, then when it reaches the right consistency, you can turn the heat up high for about 30 seconds in order to brown the bottom, called a socarrat.