Paella With Wild Rice, Seafood And Cornish Hen

Serves: 3

Estell Schumm

1 January 1970

Based on User reviews:

46

Spice

57

Sweetness

51

Sourness

44

mins

Prep time (avg)

5.2

Difficulty

Ingredients:

2 cups

Wild Rice

1 large

Yellow Onion

450 g

Mussel

4 large

Squid

2 tbsps

Olive Oil

4 cloves

Garlic

4 cups

Chicken Stock

1 pinch

Saffron Threads

Directions:

1

Soak the wild rice in 4 cups cold water for at least 2 hours

2

It will absorb some of the water and puff up a little bit

3

To roast the red peppers: Place the red bell peppers directly onto the fire on your gas stove

4

Or place directly onto your electric burner

5

Char well for over 15 minutes on all sides

6

You are looking for a very black exterior

7

Pop the peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to seal in the heat and sweat

8

In 10 minutes you can peel off the charred skin

9

If you want you can do this under running cold water, which makes it a little easier

10

Cut in wide slices and set aside

11

Peel and finely dice the onion

12

Slice the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces

13

To fabricate the Cornish game hen: Remove the carcass from your hen beginning at top of bird along either side of breast bone

14

Using a sharp knife, work your way down each side of carcass trying to remove as much meat from the bone as possible, to make 2 halves

15

Leave in the leg and wing bones, but discard the carcass (or save for stock)

16

Then cut the leg and wing pieces off from the breast pieces

17

To clean the shrimp: Start by holding the shrimp, backside up, and run your knife down the length of its spine

18

This will expose the vein

19

To remove the vein you can use your finger, or the tip of your knife to pull it out of the shrimp

20

To clean the mussels: Scrub the mussels removing any sand and seaweed bits

21

If mussels are open, test them by pressing the two shells together

22

If they start to close, then they are still alive and safe to use

23

If not, discard them

24

To clean the squid: Grab the head, while holding the end and PULL

25

Most of the guts will come out in one neat pile

26

You need to remove the transparent spine (or quill) by running a finger along the inside of the mantle holding it by the tip and pulling

27

Check the base in case there is a bit of spine left and that can be removed as well

28

Remove the wings by pulling off and then peel the rest of the skin off, which should come off in one piece

29

Slice the squid body open, score it on the diagonal (making a shallow incision but not cutting all the way through)

30

Then cut this squid piece into flat triangles, or if you prefer simply cut the squid body into rings

31

In a large skillet turn a large pan on high heat and drizzle in the oil

32

Add the hen pieces to the hot pan and sear and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes

33

Take the pieces out of the pan and set aside

34

Add the chorizo or other sausage to the pan

35

Stir until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes

36

Leave there

37

In the same pan, continue to build the dish by adding the onions, and saute until golden

38

Add the turmeric, and smoked paprika, and then add the garlic

39

Add the wild rice, and stir to coat with all the flavors and allow the grains to toast slightly

40

Return the seared hen pieces to the pan

41

Add your warm chicken stock to which you have added the saffron

42

Reserve about a cup of stock for later

43

Cover the pan with a lid or tin foil, and let cook, about 40 minutes

44

Finish by adding the seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid), and the last cup of stock just before the last 10 minutes

45

Just before serving, add the peas and the reserved roasted red peppers

46

Cover for a minute and the residual heat will warm both

47

Ladle up into two personal paella pans