Printable Area
Make-Ahead Paella Casserole
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 20 min
- Prep:
- 20 min |
- Inactive Prep:
- -- |
- Cook:
- 1 hr
- Level:
- Intermediate
- Yield:
- 4 servings
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup broken thin spaghetti or orzo pasta
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- Generous pinch saffron threads
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
- All-purpose flour or instant flour, such as Wondra, for dredging
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 5 tablespoons EVOO
- 8 ounces Spanish chorizo, chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup plus a splash dry sherry
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 roasted red bell peppers, chopped
- One 1-pound, thick center-cut fillet sustainable cod or black cod
- Seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Cook's Note: To roast bell peppers, arrange them on a baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel and seed the peppers.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a casserole dish with 2 tablespoons butter.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the pasta and toast until golden. Stir in the rice and saffron. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until al dente, about 17 minutes. Add an extra 1/2 cup water if the liquid evaporates before the rice is tender.
Meanwhile, season some flour with the paprika in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat 3 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and crisp on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to rest.
Add 1 tablespoon EVOO to the skillet, then add the chorizo and cook until the fat begins to render, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with a splash of sherry, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Stir in the peas, thyme and roasted peppers and immediately remove from the heat.
Slice the chicken and combine with the rice mixture and chorizo-pepper mixture. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Bake until heated through and the bottom is crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. Add a splash of stock, about 1/2 cup, if the top of the casserole dries out too much.
Meanwhile, cover the fish with about 1/2 cup kosher salt and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Season some flour with seafood seasoning in a small dish. Lightly