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22
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
MAY | JUNE 2015
the
Culinary Influences
issue
Tim Acosta’s Paella
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
6
chicken thighs (or drumsticks)
2 ounces Rouses olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1
teaspoon oregano
1
pound Rouses green onion sausage,
cut into bite-size pieces
1
large yellow onion, chopped
1
large red pepper, chopped
4
cloves garlic, minced
12 small cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
48 ounces Kitchen Basic unsalted chicken stock
1
large pinch saffron threads
3
cups Arborio rice, uncooked
1
pound 40-50 count Rouses wild-caught
peeled and deveined Louisiana shrimp
12 littleneck clams (or mussels), scrubbed
1
small bag of frozen sweet peas
1
small jar piquillo peppers
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Rouses salt and pepper, to taste
HOW TO PREP
Heat olive oil in paella pan on stovetop or outdoor
burner. Season chicken thighs with smoked paprika,
oregano and Rouses salt and pepper. Brown chicken
over medium heat, then remove.
Add sausage to pan and cook until just browned.
Remove sausage from pan leaving juices.
Add chopped onion, red pepper and garlic and cook
until caramelized. Mix in tomatoes and cook for
another 5 minutes.
In a separate large saucepot, heat chicken stock
over medium heat. Add saffron for flavor and color.
Return sausage and chicken to paella pan, stir to
mix completely, and add Arborio rice, stirring to
keep from sticking to the sides. Turn down heat
to low. Pour in chicken stock and stir to mix.
Add shrimp and clams, using a fork or tongs to
submerge. Let rice mixture simmer for 10 minutes.
Add peas and peppers, and continue cooking for
another 10 minutes until liquid is rendered and you
get a socarrat or crust on the bottom of the pan.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
My first paella pan was a black iron skillet.
My wife and children and I visited Spain
in 2005. If you’ve never been to Spain, you’ll
kinda like the music ... and the food. Our
first night in Barcelona, we went to a local
restaurant on La Rambalas street nearby
our hotel. My son, Chris, took Spanish in
high school, and he lead us through the
menu ...
pollo
(chicken),
carne de res
(beef ),
cerveza
(beer). Our waiter suggested the
paella. He explained that it was a rice dish
with seafood and sausage. I told my wife,
Cindy, “That sounds like jambalaya.” The
chef made the paella from scratch, which
took 45 minutes. It was
delicioso
.
Of course I couldn’t wait to make paella
at home, but I didn’t have the right pan or
the right ingredients. I used Louisiana rice
instead of Spanish Arborio rice. And since
I didn’t have any saffron, it came out brown
instead of yellow.
Eventually I bought a paella pan, and came
up with a recipe that’s a nod to my Spanish
and Louisiana heritages — my great, great
grandfather came to Louisiana from the
Canary Islands; I use Louisiana shrimp
instead of prawns, and Rouses green onion
sausage instead of Spanish chorizo.
Paella
on the
Bayou
by
Tim Acosta
Rouses Marketing Director
“Since the ingredients for paella were
not to be found in South Louisiana, the
Spanish recipe was quickly adapted
to the products at hand. Oysters and
crawfish replaced clams and mussels
in the recipe. Andouille took the place
of ham”
—Chef John Folse