Paella

Here's one of my very belated recipes from my past menu plans.  I've had this cookbook called "Ethnic Foods of Hawaii" written by the well known Hawaii author Ann Kondo Corum for years but never really used it much.  This cookbook showcases recipes from Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Korean, Filipino, Samoan, Thai, and Vietnamese ethnicities.  Since I was experimenting with the menu plan wanting to try out new recipes I figure I give this a try. 

One recipe I wanted to try was Paella.  I've eaten it before and I love all the seafood that's in it.  I never tried it since it always seemed too difficult to make.  Since I've been making mushroom risotto lately I figure this pretty much along the same lines. 

This recipe called for minced clams and I had to omit it since my lil booger might be allergic to it.  Nonetheless, in the end once this had been done being made it turned out really good.  Hubby and the lil booger gave the seal of approval and I get to make this again some other time.

Here's the recipe and a picture sample.

PAELLA
Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
1 lb. lean pork or beef, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lb. scallops
1/2 lb. shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups rice, washed
1 can (7 oz.) minced clams
1 pkg. frozen artichoke hearts (I couldn't find packaged artichoke hearts so I used 1 canned hearts)
1 pkg. frozen peas
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp saffron (can substitute achiote oil for color) (*I used achiote oil since I couldn't find saffron*)
3-3 1/2 cups boiling chicken broth
pimiento, cut into strips
cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven or paella pan.  Add chicken and pork and saute until golden brown.  Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes.  Stir in tomato, garlic, rice, clams (including liquid), vegetables, salt, and saffron.  Add boiling chicken broth.  Add scallops and shrimp.  Cook, uncovered over medium heat (or bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Garnish with pimiento and cilantro before serving.