The Impatient Chef Recipe - Paella!

Summer is here and the time is right for...

Paella!

The way to know when summer has arrived in my household is when the Paella pan comes out of hiding.

Paella comes from Spain, and has been taking hold in the US for the last decade, or so.  It seriously tries The Impatient Chef's patience, but the finished product is worth it.  This recipe is an amalgamation of a few different versions with some additions (shrimp and chorizo) of my own that turned out to not actually be original.  Oh well.  For me, they are indispensable.  

Ingredients:

• 1 pound tomatoes, or a 16 oz can diced tomatoes 
• 9 cups chicken broth 
• 3 cups Bomba, Paella or Arborio rice.  Any of these would work.  
• 20 threads saffron 
• 2 sprigs rosemary.  Remove the leaves from the stems
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs
• 1 pound ground pork chorizo sausage (optional, but why would you not use it?) 
• 1 pound medium to large shrimp (optional, but… well… it’s shrimp!) 
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans, ends cut off, and cut into 1" pieces
• 2 cups chopped red bell pepper 
• 7 cloves garlic, minced 

Equipment: Chimney starter, paper, and about 4 pounds natural lump charcoal, 15-inch carbon steel paella pan, kettle grill.  

Directions:

1. Start the grill:  Crumble some paper (I use Visa receipts because they can't be recycled), and put it into the bottom of a charcoal chimney starter.  Fill the chimney with half of the charcoal and light the paper.  
2. When the charcoal is looking ashy, pour it onto the bottom grate of the grill and spread it out.  Add the remaining charcoal, and spread it evenly.  Add the cooking grate to the grill, but don't put the Paella pan onto it yet.  
3. You need to give the coals a little time to settle down before cooking, so its important to start the coals first.  You can start the prep while they are in the chimney, but make sure you give them some time.  My most recent Paella suffered from forgetting to do this.  I had the Fires of Hell under the pan when I started, and it it was difficult to get everything done without burning.  I lost about a third of the batch to over-charring.  There is supposed to be a layer of "socarrat", or lightly-charred rice, on the bottom of the pan.  There is not supposed to be a layer of creosote.  
4. Start your prep:  If you use fresh tomatoes, just dice them.  I have always done well with using canned, diced tomatoes. You can also use ground tomatoes as well.  Do all of the chopping and cutting mentioned in the ingredients list.  
   
   
   
5. Season the chicken with 2 teaspoons of salt.
6. Warm the chicken broth in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 200 degrees F.  Put on the lid, and turn the burner to low, or just remove it from the stove.  
7. In a mixing bowl, add the rice, saffron, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and paprika.  mix it with your hands for a few seconds.  
8. Put your Paella pan onto the grill.  Let it heat for a few seconds.  
9. Add the olive oil to the pan (remember, no Fires of Hell). 
10. If you are using chorizo and shrimp, cook this first for 4 minutes.  If the shrimp is raw, add it to the chorizo after 3 minutes.  Remove both to a bowl for later, leaving the spicy oils in the pan.  If the shrimp is precooked, add it when you add back the chorizo in a few steps.  
11. place the chicken into the pan, and fry until golden brown on both sides.  It should take about 5 to 6 minutes per side.  
    
    
    
12. Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside.  Add the green beans, and red bell pepper to the center of the pan and cook until they begin to soften and darken in color, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for an additional minute.  
13. Add the tomatoes, and cook until most of the liquid is gone.  This is usually just a few minutes.   
14. Add the rice mixture to the center of the pan and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.  
15. Add back the cooked shrimp and chorizo at this point, and spread the rice mixture evenly throughout the pan.  
16. Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice, and press down lightly to nestle them into the rice.  They should not touch the bottom, though.  
17. Add 4 cups of the warm chicken broth, and make sure that the rice mixture is still evenly distributed.  The rice should be completely submerged in the liquid.  You can press it under the liquid with a spatula or long spoon if necessary.  Do not stir the paella from here on.  To get socarrat, you have to leave it undisturbed.
18. After about 8 to 9 minutes, the liquid should be mostly absorbed.  Add 4 more cups of broth.  Cook for 8 to 9 more minutes without stirring. The rice should be al dente at this point.  Distribute the remaining cup of broth.  Add a little to spots where the rice is poking through the liquid. 
19. After a few more minutes, you should hear a light sizzling from the bottom of the pan.  If you don't hear it, don't worry.  The rice shouldn't look soupy, but it also should not be totally dry.  It should look like the picture below.  
20. Remove the pan from the grill, and cover it with a couple of kitchen towels.  Leave it rest for about 15 minutes.  Any remaining liquid should be absorbed by the rice.  

It may take a few attempts to get it right, but it is rewarding, and will feed an army, or give you a week of leftovers.  

Enjoy!

The Impatient Chef.  

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Shrimp With Black Rice and Garlic

You can eat delicious food, and still be impatient.

2 cups cooked black pearl rice.
1/2 pound cooked shrimp.
As much pressed garlic as you can stand.
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped.
Salt and pepper to taste.
3 tbsp butter.
3 tbsp blanc vermouth.

Melt butter in skillet. Add garlic, stir vigorously.  After about 30 seconds, add chives and rice.  Cook, stirring often, until hot.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir. Add shrimp. Stir.  Cook until hot.  Add vermouth.  Stir.  Cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.  Stir enough to keep rice from sticking. Serve.

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Southern Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice is a staple of the south, especially around Louisiana.  I decided to try my hand at it.  The cooking went nothing like the recipe used said it would, so I improvised.  What I got was the recipe I am sharing here.  It was the best I have ever had.

Ingredients:

For red beans:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, or better yet, bacon grease.  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium red bell peppers, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, pressed, or thoroughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound smoked ham hock, bone in
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce, or approved equivalent.  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 quarts water
• 1 pound red beans (not kidney), rinsed and picked of debris.  

For rice:

• 6 cups spring or filtered water 
• Fine sea salt 
• 7 ounces (1 cup) Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice 
• 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Directions:

For beans:

Soak the beans in water with a teaspoon of salt stirred in overnight in a crock pot.  Use enough water to more than cover the beans.  In the morning, drain the beans, and add a fresh 2 quarts of water to the beans, and turn it onto high.  I have an older crock pot, so I have Off, Low, and High for settings.  I prefer this kind of crock pot over newer ones with programs and Wifi.  When the beans are starting to simmer lightly, turn it to low.   

1. About 2 hours before you want to eat, dice the peppers, onion, carrot, and celery.  You probably don’t have a mortar and pestle like the one pictured, but you should.  Put the garlic in the mortar, and smash it up good.  add the thyme, and kosher salt.  I start this with a coarse kosher salt because it adds a little grinding action.  We want to release the oils in the thyme leaves.  
2. In a 7-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, add the oil (or bacon grease), and let it get hot.  Don’t use extra virgin for this, because the smoke temperature is too low.  Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, carrot and pepper.. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and celery are semi-translucent and the bell peppers and carrots are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme mixture, and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the ham hock, bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, water and pour the beans from the crock pot into the dutch oven, and increase the heat to high.  Eat a bean to test its firmness.  If they are soft, and not at all gritty, skip the lid-on part of the final cooking.  If they are not soft, continue with the next step.  
3. Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on how tender the beans are.  When they are just about as tender as you want them, move to the uncovered cooking.  
4. After the covered cooking is done, uncover the pot, remove the ham hock.  Let it cool on a plate.  
5. Increase the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook, stirring often, for another 30 to 40 minutes.
6. When the ham hock is cooled, remove it from the bone, remove the fat, and tear it up with a couple of forks.  Return it to the pot.  
7. When the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking, they are done.  If they aren’t thickening, cook a little longer.  You don’t want to turn the beans to mush, though.  You may not get this right on the first try.  You can adjust your cooking times on future attempts.  It’s worth it. 

For Rice:

Follow the Anson Mills recipe for Carolina Gold rice as follows:  

For this recipe, you will need a rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, a heavy-bottomed 3½-quart saucepan, a wooden spoon, a fine-holed footed colander, and a spatula.

Directions:  

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a heavy-bottomed 3½-quart saucepan, bring the water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil over high heat. Add the rice, stir once, and as soon as the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is just tender with no hard starch at its center, about 15 minutes. Drain the rice in a fine-holed footed colander and rinse well with cool water. Shake the colander to drain off excess water.
3. Distribute the rice evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and allow the rice to dry for about 5 minutes, gently turning the grains from time to time with a spatula. Dot with the butter and sprinkle with the pepper and salt to taste. Return the baking sheet to the oven and allow the rice to warm through, occasionally turning the grains, until the butter has melted and the rice is hot, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

Why Use Anson Mills Rice?

If you’re asking this question, you haven’t tried it.  You can use rice from you local supermarket, or natural food store, and this dish will be good.  Just remember to add some butter, salt and pepper to the rice in the quantities listed above.  However, the Anson Mills ice kicks the deliciousness up a notch.  Give it a try.