FEBRUARY'S SPICY CHICK-OZO PAELLA

SPICY CHICK-OZO PAELLA

(chicken and chorizo..or chicken sausage..paella)

Paella for 8, but stretched for 15

Attendees:
The Father
The Mother
Juicy, sister
Disney, bro-in-law
A2'd, niece
SisterLee, sister
Daphne, bro-in-law
R, nephew
J, niece
Ricky, brother
Lucy, sis-in-law
K, nephew
Her Highness, daughter
"A", son
The Smallest Dog in the World, dog

and....Me.

Ingredients:
16 pieces chicken thighs, skin on
6 sprigs of thyme
1/4 c. olive oil
4 Adelaide Italian chicken/turkey sausage or chorizo
3 garlic gloves, crushed
1 onion, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 red peppers chopped
1 green pepper chopped
Pinch of sweet paprika
3 c. Arborio rice
1 tsp. saffron threads (or 2 tsp depending if conserving saffron)
7 c chicken broth
Asparagus

Ermeril's Essence Rub:
2-1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions:
Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry.  Season with Emeril Legasse's Essence rub.  Heat oil in paella pan or wide skillet on a BBQ grill.  Brown the chicken on all sides until nearly cooked through.  About 6-7 minutes on each side.  Take out and set aside.  Saute cut chorizo/sausage for about 7 minutes.  Remove and set aside.

Drain out excess oil but do not clean the pan.  Saute onion, garlic and tomatoes, cook until the mixture caramelizes slightly until the flavors meld.  Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Add the Arborio rice, stirring to coat the grains.  In the meantime, steep the saffron in 1/4-cup hot water for 5 minutes then stir into the rice.

Add some broth until it just covers the rice.  Add peppers. Gently move the pan around so the rice and peppers cooks and absorbs evenly.  Keep adding broth to just cover the rice until all 7 cups of broth are used.  Do not stir.  However, shake and move to keep the rice cooking evenly.  After 15 minutes, add chicken and sausage and scatter the asparagus over top.  Cook another 15-25 minutes, until the rice is al dente.  The rice should be toasted on the bottom, called socarrat.  Allow to rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving.

Consensus:  Another thumbs up.  Her Highness and "A" agreed the February Paella was better than January.  Less BBQ flavor.  The rice needed to be toasted a lot more.  The flame needed to be higher.