Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 small chicken, jointed (chicken parts are okay too - legs, breasts, etc)2 pork chops without bone
1 small chorizo sausage
1 Spanish onion
1 clove of garlic
3 tblspoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups chicken stock (or large can of chicken broth)
2 medium tomatoes (or a can of diced tomatoes, undrained)
1 cup bomba paella rice
12-15 stalks of saffron
1 small cooked lobster (optional)
8-10 large shelled shrimp (optional)
12 mussels (optional)
12 or more little neck clams (optional)
1 package of frozen peas (10 oz)
1 red sweet pepper, cut into long, thin strips
12 stalks of asparagus (optional)
salt, pepper, chili
Method
In the paella pan (or a flat pan that is safe for the gas grill or bar b que) saute onion and garlic for a little while, then add the chicken, pork and chorizo, and continue frying until golden. Add half of the chicken broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes.Add tomatoes (peeled and chopped), rice and remaining broth. Simmer 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the saffron/liquid. (To prepare the saffron you need to soak it in 3-4 tablespoons of cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes. I like to have it soaking while all the ingredients are getting chopped and prepared, to ensure a nice yellow/red liquid.)
Arrange lobster pieces, shrimp, mussels, clams, peas, asparagus and red pepper on top. Continue cooking for around 15-20 minutes, until the rice is creamy but al dente at the center, and has absorbed most of the liquid. The clams and mussels will have opened up by now (discard any that have not).
Check seasoning and serve piping hot.
Note
Many of the ingredients are optional. It all depends on your audience - you don't want to be guilty of serving pork to a vegetarian or have to rush your guest to the emergency room midway through dinner because of a seafood allergy! You can modify everything to your needs. But do not omit the core ingredients: onion, garlic, saffron rice, tomatoes, broth (though this could be vegetable stock).
