Paella for a Crowd

I was serving a crowd with a mixture of seafood-loving and vegetarian guests for the housewarming of our new holiday house on the island of  Santa Maria, Azores. 

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I have already learned that on this 17 X 9 kilometre, volcanic rock island in the mid Atlantic, you check for the best ingredients at the market and then decide what to make.  I had seen spice packets specifically for Paella in the grocery store already, so I was pretty sure I could get the right chorizo, seafood and rice to make paella.

It was also a perfect dish to be able to divide into vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Rice for paella should be a medium-grain rice. You want it to absorb liquid but not be creamy or sticky.   I soaked the rice for about an hour and rinsed it a couple of times so it would separate nicely when cooked.  Then I sauteed the uncooked rice in a frying pan with oil, garlic, onions and red peppers - just enough to slightly soften the onions and coat the rice.  I gave the whole mixture a generous splash of white wine and let the pan sizzle until the wine had been absorbed or evaporated.

Then I divided the rice mixture into 2 separate pans.  Paella is traditionally cooked in a shallow pan over an open fire.  It is supposed to be only about ½ -1" deep in the pan so you can create a caramelized crust on the bottom.  That didn't happen with mine, but I was pretty happy with it anyway!

For the vegetarian version, I used a vegetable broth with the paella seasoning and added chickpeas in lieu of sausage and seafood.   For the non-vegetarian version, I used a wonderful chicken broth I had made, the seasoning and a mixture of piquant and regular local sausage.

I covered my pans with foil and baked them in the oven for about an hour until the liquid was absorbed and the rice was cooked and fragrant.

In another non-traditional twist, I steamed my seafood - clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari on the stove in a garlic and white wine broth. That way, guests could spoon some over the rice based on dietary preferences.

I prepared a side salad - Melon and Crispy Prosciutto Salad because the melons here are the island are incredibly flavourful and juicy. Prosciutto is also readily available here. I left the prosciutto bits to the side so people could build their own salad with our without it!

Wine Pairing

I like a crisp white wine to complement the seafood and saffron flavours. Look for an Alvarinho (Ablarino), Pinot Grigio, or Vinho Verde. An Italian Falanghina or Soave would also work.

For a red, keep it light and low tannin like a Grenache or a Beaujolais.

Paella

This sturdy rice dish exudes saffron and seafood flavours. Baking it in the oven makes it easy to make a large quantity easily.

Author: Carolyn Hetke

If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Spanish

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups medium grain rice
• ▢ 8 cups chicken broth (use vegetable for vegetarian option)
• ▢ 4 +2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2 sweet red peppers diced
• ▢ 2 medium yellow onions diced
• ▢ 4 6" chorizo type sausage -not spicy
• ▢ 2 6" chorizo type sausage spicy
• ▢ 2 lbs shrimp shelled and deveined
• ▢ 1 lb other seafood of your choice (clams, mussels, calamari or a seafood mixture)
• ▢ 2 cups frozen green peas
• ▢ 4 +2 Tbsps olive oil
• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine divided ¼ cup and ¼ cup

Paella seasoning

• ▢ 4 good pinches saffron
• ▢ 2 Tbsps paprika can be a mix of smoked and sweet but use at least 50% sweet
• ▢ 1-2 tsps cayenne optional
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Rinse uncooked rice in cold water. Cover with water and allow to stand about 1 hour. Drain and rinse.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat 4 Tbsps olive oil in a frying pan. When hot add 4 cloves minced garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add the onion and red pepper and cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Add the drained rice and stir until rice is evenly coated. Add ¼ cup white wine and allow wine to evaporate- another 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer rice mixture to a paella pan or low wide oven proof pan.
• Dissolve spices in hot broth and pour over rice mixture.
• Remove casing from sausage if necessary and slice into ½" rounds.
• Add sausage and peas to the rice and broth and stir to distribute.
• Cover oven pan(s) with foil but leave an opening so steam can escape.
• Bake about 55 -60 minutes. Check that liquid has been absorbed, remove from oven. Stir and allow to stand covered about 5 minutes.
• While rice is baking clean and prepare the shrimp and seafood as required ( shell & devein, shrimp if necessary, debeard mussels it necessary etc) Abut 5 minutes before rice will be removed from the oven, heat remaining olive oil and garlic in a large stock pot. Add ¼ cup white wine and seafood. Cover tightly and allow to steam 3-5 minutes.Using a slotted spoon, ladle seafood over rice when serving.

Notes

For the vegetarian version: Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth. Replace sausage and seafood with 2-3 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed.

Wine Pairing

I like a crisp white wine to complement the seafood and saffron flavours. Look for an Alvarinho (Ablarino), Pinot Grigio, or Vinho Verde. An Italian Falanghina or Soave would also work.

For a red, keep it light and low tannin, like a Grenache or a Beaujolais.

Nutrition

Calories: 688kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 676mg | Potassium: 462mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1858IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 6mg

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