Seafood Rice, Paella Style

Seafood Rice, Paella Style

1 cup, Spanish style chorizo, diced small

1 tablespoon olive oil

1½ cups yellow onion, small diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound squid tubes, sliced into thin rings (if using the bodies, cut them in halves or quarters)

2 cups La Bomba rice or Calisparra or Valencia

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch saffron threads

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup chopped tomatoes

1½ bottles Estrella beer

2 cups warm chicken stock (i added all shrimp shells to the stock)

½ cup frozen green peas, thawed

1½ dozen mussels

1½ middle neck or littleneck clams

1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

parsley, chopped, to garnish

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a very large sauté pan or paella pan, begin rendering the chorizo over medium-low heat. When some of the fat begins to release, add the oil and the onions and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes until they get soft, add the squid and the rice; stirring, allow the rice to get nice and coated in the oil and add the paprika and the saffron. After 1 minute add the tomato paste stirring really-well for 2 minutes and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the tomatoes, 1 bottle of beer and allow to just begin reducing for about 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken stock little by little (straining it into the paella if you added the shells to it); after another 5 minutes, make sure you have enough chicken stock to cover about 1 inch above the rice. Add the clams, mussels, shrimp and peas in a nice decorative way. Cover with foil and place in a 385˚F-400˚F oven for 10 minutes or until the shellfish opens. Remove from the oven, place back on a burner over low heat. Drizzle the ½ beer over the rice, top with the butter and taste for seasoning. Top with some chopped parsley and serve.

Serve with mayonnaise mixed with a little fresh lemon juice.