Paella is an impressive dish that serves a crowd. But have you ever thought of making it at camp? Mieke Johnson from Itsy Bitsy Beautiful shows us how in her recipe for Fireside Paella.
Servings
8 servings
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
55 minutes
Passive time
1 minute
Ingredients
Protein
1 1/2 lb
boned Chicken Thighs
8 oz
frozen, shelled, and deveined cooked small Shrimp
1/2 lb
Spanish Chorizo
or spicy sausage
FRESH
1 small
Onion
1
Red or Green Bell Pepper
1
Fennel Bulb
with feathery greens
3 large
Garlic Cloves
minced
Spices
1 1/4 tsp
Kosher Salt
divided
2 1/2 tsp
smoked paprika
divided
Packaged
1 cup
Pimento-Stuffed Green Olives
1 can
Diced Tomatoes
14-1/2 oz.
2 cups
Arborio Rice
Liquids
3 Tbsp
Olive Oil
divided
3/4 cup
Spanish Fino Sherry
or other dry sherry
1 can
reduced-sodium Chicken Broth
14 1/2 oz
Instructions
At Home
Cut chicken thighs in thirds. Devein and peel shrimp. Freeze your chicken and shrimp in separate containers or plastic resealable bags. This gives them a couple of solid days in your cooler. Measure arborio rice into a quart-sized plastic bag. Measure sherry into a small container with tight fitting lid. Use masking tape and a marker to label each item.
In Camp
One hour before cooking, prepare a fire. Once a fair amount of coals have been accumulated, move the coals to the side of the flame part of the fire. Adding more coals to this pile as time goes by. Place a grate over the coal pile (many fire pits at established campsites have them) or you can bring your own.
Prep all ingredients while fire is burning down some cooking coals.
Chop onion and bell pepper. Trim the ends of the fennel and reserve the tops. Halve the fennel lengthwise. Remove tough outer layer and the base end. Thinly slice. Mince the garlic cloves. Thinly slice chorizo.
Move all ingredients fireside along with cooking utensils, heatproof gloves and an empty plate.
Place a paella pan on the grill and add about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Swirl to coat the pan. Add sausage and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon or tongs, keeping as much oil as possible in the pan.
Brown chicken in paella pan, turning over once, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. While browning, add a sprinkle of salt and some paprika before turning. Transfer to a second plate.
Add another good pour of olive oil to the pan. Toss in the fennel, onion and bell pepper. Saute until the fennel softens a bit, 8-10 minutes. Stir in garlic and a good sized dash of salt. Add about 2 teaspoons paprika and the saffron threads. Cook, tossing to coat, until fragrant for a couple of minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring until it thickens a bit, about 5 minutes.
Now add the rice and stir it up until it is well coated. Add about a cup of water, the sherry, chicken broth, olives and chorizo. Stir. Add the shrimp. Reduce heat and simmer until the the liquid is almost absorbed, shrimp is cooked and the rice is tender, maybe 25 minutes. Add liquid if needed. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Add cooked chicken and fold the pieces into the mixture. Taste for salt. Chop up the fennel fronds and serve on top.