paella Archives - Proud Italian Cook

September 10, 2018 by Marie 1 Comment

I’ve made paella many times but honestly I never made grilled paella until recently, and now I don’t think I’ll ever make it any other way. Making paella on the grill gives you a larger cooking surface which gives you more even cooking all around as opposed to using just a burner on the stove.

Having the rice spread out evenly on the wide, shallow paella pan creates the perfect condition for socarrat, which is the crunchy, crust that forms on the bottom, known as the prized part of eating a paella. I once read that socarrat is to a paella what the smoke ring is to a brisket, and by making a grilled paella it’s easy to achieve.

Let me just say I’m no expert on making paella, but I do love making it. The presentation is dramatic and it’s cooked all in one vessel! There are so many versions of paella, seafood, vegetarian, meat, I could go on and on, but for this grilled version I kept it simple by using shrimp with andouille, a spicy smoked sausage.

For paella you have to use a short grain rice, you can find the brand above or a rice called bomba but if not, arborio or carnaroli will do.

Another key ingredient is the spice saffron, a little goes a long way. I found this spice packet from Spain on Amazon which has just the right amount in it along with some other spices to flavor the paella so well.

Making a grilled paella gives you a rich, smoky flavor and it’s fairly easy to do providing you have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go.

I have two paella pans, a 15 inch and a 22 inch depending on what ingredients you decide on and what you’ll be serving with it, you can feed quite a few people, so it’s a great dish for entertaining.

A beautiful grilled paella is a wonderful option for a special occasion or just a casual dinner with friends. It’s still grilling season, so get on out there and make this!

Look at that crusty bottom, the famous socarrat! That’s exactly what you want to see as you’re serving it up.

I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Follow prouditaliancook on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

Shrimp and Sausage Paella on the Grill

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 lb. jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined and tail on, dried of all moisture and tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper
½ lb. smoked andouille sausage or any smoked sausage of your choice, sliced
1½ cups of short grain rice, valencia, bomba, arborio or carnaroli
1 white onion, finely chopped
4 small fresh tomatoes, chopped
5 cloves, garlic chopped
1 Paellero spice packet or a pinch of saffron and a teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 heaping Tablespoons of a roasted red pepper sauce, store bought or made by whizzing roasted red peppers in a food processor
1 quart of chicken broth, warmed up
1 red, yellow and orange pepper sliced thin
1 cup of frozen peas, defrosted
parsley and lemon wedges for garnish
olive oil

Instructions

Heat your grill up, for gas have all burners on and leave on medium high
Put the paella pan on and drizzle the bottom with olive oil.
When pan is hot add the sliced smoked sausage tossing for a couple of minutes.
Add the onions and garlic until you start to smell them.
Add chopped tomatoes, the rice and the spices, tossing and toasting the rice for a few minutes.
Add the roasted red pepper sauce, mixing until incorporated.
Then add in 2 cups of the warm broth making sure the rice is evenly spread across the bottom of the pan, now is the time you do not stir. Just make sure the sausage is evenly distributed as well.
Place the thinly cut peppers all around.
Add 2 more cups of warm broth then distribute the shrimp all around the paella pan.
Toss in the peas and put the lid on the grill down and let it go for a few minutes.
If it's looking dry add 2 more cups of the broth, but no stirring.
You can taste test the edges, because that will be the last to get tender, so you'll know when it's ready when the rice is tender but firm to the bite.
Remove, garnish with lemon wedges and parsley.
Serve it up right in the pan.

It’s Paella Time Again….My Way

This is not the first time I’ve made and posted a vegetable paella here, I think it’s been about a year and a half since I made my first one, but I just love making them because you can be as creative as you want with all sorts of vegetables, especially what is currently in season right now.

The rice is your blank canvas, so everything you place on top of it just makes the whole dish come alive!

This was not a planned recipe what so ever, these were the actual veggies that I had in my fridge the other day, so before they went bad I decided to roast them all, which I do quite often.

Roasting vegetables dramatically enhance their flavor, It’s a simple method where the vegetables are tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper then placed in a 425 degree oven and roasted until nicely golden and tender.

I usually have a few rimmed baking sheets going at the same time because I like to roast the vegetables individually according to their kind instead of mixing them all together. As you can see I had quite a variety!

I used red pepper, broccolini, yellow squash, zucchini, leeks, butternut squash, baby thin carrots, fennel, yellow and white cauliflower and those cute little enoki mushrooms. I also added roasted cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of frozen peas.

The point is you can make it your own with whatever vegetables you have on hand, don’t be afraid, anything will work. The more color the better, just play around with it and have fun, and besides, eating more color brings many health benefits to us, and that’s a good thing!

The instructions for paella and starting the rice can be found here in my previous post, just change out the veggies and make it your own, of course mine is not so traditional but made with an Italian flare.

It’s a one pan meal you can pull together during the week,( especially if you roast your vegetables ahead of time) or special enough to serve to your guests at a dinner party. Any leftovers you might have taste equally as good the next day!

I guarantee you’ll have extra roasted veggies left over so why not make a hearty minestrone with them like I did. I mixed homemade broth with a good boxed broth, simmered it for a while with a few parmesan rinds ( or grated cheese) that I always keep in my freezer plus a can of cannellini beans, some kale, leftover chicken if you have it and cooked pasta if you like. When the broth is nice and cheesy place some of those leftover veggies into a bowl and ladle the broth right on top. So good, and so good for you!