A fun commuinity dish - Paella!

There are so many things to love about Paella.  It's such a great dish to place in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.  There is something in it for everyone.  I love finding a shrimp or a little morsel of sausage nestled in the rice richly flavored with saffron.  Have I mentioned that saffron is one of my very favorite spices?  Of course it is - it is the most expensive spice in the world!  I began experimenting with different paella recipes several years ago just because of the saffron.  Last month on a trip to New York City, Chris, Colleen and I received a recommendation for a paella restaurant from a guy in a wine store as we were indulging in one of our favorite hobbies - purchasing wine. 

A no-reservation restaurant in New York City on a Saturday night a few weeks before Christmas that seats approximately 40 is not going to stop the likes of the three of us. Thanks to Chris and Colleen's charming personalities, (those two could sell honey to bees) our wait wasn't terribly long.  The Soccarrat Paella Bar was fabulous and the proprietor's were happy to share with us some great tips on fixing authentic paella.

The following recipe is an amalgamation of several recipes I've drawn from plus tips from the The Soccarrat Paella Bar.  The only tip from The Soccarrat I didn't use in this recipe is to use a genuine paella pan that I have yet to purchase.  According to these paella experts, it's what gives the dish the crunchy flavorful goodness on the bottom.  I can't wait to purchase my very own paella pan!

Paella
3 Tbsps olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (diced)
1 medium red onion (diced)
1/2 lb sausage (I use Italian turkey sweet sausage but, many recipes call for kielbasa or other types of sausage - to me, it's a personal preference)
2 cups cooked chicken (diced) - I like the white and dark meat in paella
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp saffron threads
2 cups long grain rice
1 cup asparagus spears blanched and cooked crisp tender (cut into 1" pcs)
1 cup sugar snap peas blanched and cooked crisp tender
4 cups seafood stock or chicken stock (I think the seafood stock is lot more flavorful but sometimes I can't find it at my grocery)
1 lb shrimp (uncooked)
2 dozen clams

Place wine and saffron in a small pan bring to a boil over medium heat.  Set aside and let steep.

Over medium heat in a large heavy, covered oven-proof pan, heat oil and brown sausage.  Add onion, garlic and red pepper.  Cook until just tender.  Add chicken, chicken broth, rice and wine and saffron.  Cover and let cook for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked through and tender.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover pan place in oven and cook for 45 mins to 1 hour.  The last 10 minutes of cooking, remove pan from oven and nestle shrimp and clams in rice mixture.  Top with asparagus and sugar snap peas and return to oven covered and cook until shrimp turns pink and clams open up.  Remove from oven and mix together before serving.