Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
4 lb chicken pieces
1 large onion, diced
3 red bell peppers, diced
5 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken, broth
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 cup short-grain rice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp saffron
3 lb plum tomatoes peeled, seeded & cho, pped
16 large shrimp
16 clams
16 mussels
1 lemon wedges for garnish
Directions
HEAT THE OIL in a casserole over medium heat and brown the chicken on
all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the pieces as they are
done and add the onion and peppers. Cook 5 minutes, stirring.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a separate pot. When
the peppers and onions are done, reduce heat to low and add the
garlic, rice, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil.
Add the stock and the saffron. Add the tomatoes. Replace the chicken
pieces, cover and cook for 25 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook
another 10 minutes. If the pot has gotten too dry, add a little water
or more stock. Add the clams and mussels and cook until they open.
Remove from the heat and serve from the casserole. Accompany with
lemon wedges. ~--
Servings: 10 servings
Michael's Paella Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fish; Spanish
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to follow the history of recipes way back into distant history, at least as far back into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, these, ancient cook books were just primitive pictorial instructions for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to experts in ancient history is a series of clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel blissful. As we move into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled some scripts which described recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, Apicius tells us how the meals were separated into hors d`oeuvre, main course and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also recounts how the Roman cooks used many different herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks such as basil, fennel and asafoetida. Later, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from the holy lands, including spices like coriander, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices caused an increase in books on cookery, some of which still exist in private cookery archives. During the following few centuries, the rich and powerful families of the West tried to offer the most exotic meals, and consequentially the best chefs and their recipes increased in prestige. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that cookery and recipe publications became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to assembling, verifying, and publishing recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. The revolution that is television gave us celebrity TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, permitting us all to search through thousands of recipes like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Michael's Paella recipe.
