I love a good casserole. The comforting single-dish meals were an important part of the food of my childhood. You don’t see many of those 60s casseroles anymore, though, maybe because our palates have evolved beyond their frequently salty, one-dimensional flavors (often produced by convenience ingredients like canned condensed cream of mushroom soup, tater tots and dried onion soup mix –did anyone ever use it for soup?). Still, the concept is compelling –comfort, ease, and big warm flavors all in one hot dish.
Here’s a casserole update that has those qualities in spades. Actually, it’s more of a backdate since it’s a recipe for a traditional Spanish chicken paella. (We could call it something like “Valencia Chicken Surprise” or “Matador Chicken ‘n’ Rice” to build that retro casserole mood, but let’s not.)
In summer I often feed large groups with traditional mixed meat and seafood and mixed seafood paellas. They’re crowd pleasers –delicious, fun and showy– but their long lists of fresh ingredients (and the occasional need to dispatch live lobsters on the kitchen counter) also makes them a bit of a production. What I didn’t know until recently is that the Spanish tradition of paella also (and, in fact, mainly) includes simpler, more focused dishes like this one.
For years, I had some misconceptions about paella that kept the dish (actually a large genre of Spanish rice dishes) out of my dinner repertoire. I thought I needed special equipment. (You don’t. A paella pan is nice, but a shallow casserole or a large skillet works just fine. The key is getting the right size, and a good paella recipe will tell you that. If you don’t have a pan large enough, just split the dish into two smaller ones.) I thought I needed hard-to-find imported Spanish rice. (You don’t. Arborio rice used for risotto works well.) I thought the dish was expensive to make. (It doesn’t have to be. A mixed seafood paella with lobsters can be a splurge, but less elaborate dishes like this one are very economical. Saffron is a key ingredient in many traditional paellas, and it’s extremely expensive by weight, but a little goes a long way, so the cost per serving is low. You can also make a perfectly respectable paella without it.) I thought the dish was tricky –that it was difficult to get the rice cooked without overcooking the other ingredients. (It’s actually quite forgiving if you pay reasonable attention to the instructions and remember to taste as you go.)
Now that we’ve cleared that up, a few tips about this recipe. Don’t be put off by the longish list of ingredients –most are common, and there’s no more than the average amount of slicing and dicing. The marinade is also user-friendly in that it only takes an hour at room temperature, although, of course, you could let it go overnight in the fridge. Finally, watch the salt. It’s easy to overdo it, particularly if you’re using commercial salted stock. Use a light hand as you cook and then make your final adjustments just before the dish goes in the oven.
For an great source of paella pans, rice and other ingredients for paella, go to www.tienda.com. San Francisco’s Vanilla Saffron Imports (www.saffron.com) has excellent saffron at the best prices I’ve ever seen.
Recipe
(Adapted from Ruperto’s Marinated Chicken Paella in Paella! by Penelope Casas. Serves 6-8.)
Ingredients
For the marinade:
3 tablespoons dry sherry or dry white wine
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 2 tablespoons fresh
4 cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 bay leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 teaspoons lemon juice
16 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed (don’t smash them to bits — you’ll be fishing them out of the marinade before cooking)
2 teaspoons Spanish sweet smoked paprika
ground pepper
For the paella:
3 – 31/2 pounds (1.4 – 1.6 kg) chicken or chicken parts
6 cups (1.4 l) of chicken stock (preferably low salt)
1/4 teaspoon thread saffron
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large green bell peppers, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 cups Spanish or Arborio short-grain rice
1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
Instructions:
1. Skin and cut the chicken into about 2-inch pieces.
2. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large shallow bowl. Add the chicken, toss to coat well and marinate for at least one hour at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge).
3. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade. Reserve the marinade, but discard the garlic. Dry the chicken pieces on paper towels and then sprinkle both sides with kosher salt.
4. In a large saucepan combine the chicken stock with the marinade (rinse the bowl with a little stock to get all of the marinade) and the saffron. Bring just to the boil and then keep hot over the lowest heat.
5. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) (gas) or 450F (230C) (electric).
6. Heat the oil in a paella pan (or a large shallow casserole or saute pan) measuring 17-18 inches (43-46 cm) at its widest point. Brown your chicken nuggets over high heat, turning once, (it won’t be cooked through) and remove them to a platter.
7. Add to the pan the garlic, onion, peppers and bay leaf and saute until the vegetables are tender (but still have some crispness). Stir in the tomato and parsley and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
8. Add the rice and stir to coat well. Pour in all of the hot broth and bring to the boil. Add the peas and taste for salt.
9. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the dish has the texture of a loose risotto. (It shouldn’t be soupy, but there should be enough liquid left over to finish cooking the rice.)
10. Fish out the bay leaf, and then arrange the chicken pieces over the rice in a single layer. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes in a gas oven or 15-20 minutes in an electric oven. Near the end of the cooking time, taste the rice. It should be on the firm side of al dente when you remove the dish from the oven.
11. Put the dish in a warm place, cover it with foil and let it rest until the rice is cooked to taste, 5-10 minutes.
Serve your chicken casserole immediately with a simple green salad for a deeply satisfying meal.
