Spring Paella

Longer days, fresh blooms, outdoor dinners with friends: SPRING.

We've been wanting to do an open-fire paella for some time. The dish itself is a sumptuous collection of ingredients, and it's a great way to treat a large group of friends. Quite simply: paella is the focal point of a great party. Even more so, when preparing it over an open fire.

After reading through some different recipes, we combined elements of each, and of course, added Coeur Clémentine Rosé liberally. The result was delicious and will certainly be repeated on many spring and summer occasions.

See full recipe below.

RECIPE:

20 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 T paprika

coarse salt and fresh pepper

8 large tomatoes (or 3 cans diced tomatoes, liquid drained)

3 red bell peppers, cut into quarters, stemmed, seeded, and ribs removed

3 yellow bell peppers, cut into quarters, stemmed, seeded, and ribs removed

2 T saffron

8 cups chicken stock

1 cup Coeur Clémentine Rosé

2 lbs sausage, sliced

1 1/4 lbs haricots verts, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 large onions, chopped

1/4 cup garlic, finely chopped

25 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 1/2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed

3 dozen mussels, scrubbed

2 1/2 lbs Bomba rice

4 cups fresh or frozen peas

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Place chicken in a large bowl and add 4 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and 1 teaspoon salt; turn chicken to coat. Cover chicken and let marinate, refrigerated, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. With a paring knife, core tomatoes, and score an X on the bottoms. Working in batches, carefully lower tomatoes into boiling water; when skins begin to split, after 30 to 60 seconds, use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to water bath.
3. When tomatoes are cool, remove skins (use a paring knife, if necessary), and discard. Halve tomatoes. Remove seeds with a spoon, and discard. Finely chop tomatoes.
4. Cut peppers crosswise into 1/4-inch strips; set aside. Using a mortar and pestle, grind together saffron and 1 tablespoon salt. Add saffron mixture to a medium bowl and add 2 cups chicken stock and rosé. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
5. If using a charcoal grill, make a fire in your grill. When the charcoals are completely covered in gray ash, hold your hand about 5 inches above the grill grid; count how many seconds you can comfortably leave it there. When you can hold it there for 1 to 2 seconds, you have high heat and are ready to cook. Alternatively, you can cook the paella on a stove over high heat.
6. Place a 20-inch paella pan with 3-inch sides over desired heat source. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil and heat, until pan is very hot, about 5 minutes. Add chicken thighs and cook, turning, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add sausage and cook, turning, until browned, about 3 minutes more.
7. Add peppers, onions, garlic, haricots verts, and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes more; add clams and mussels.
8. Add rice and stir to coat. Add reserved chicken stock mixture and let cook about 1 minute. Add 3 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Let cook, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes, adding more stock and rosé as necessary (you may not need to use all the stock).
9. Add peas and cook, until tender, about 3 minutes more. Season with salt and lemon juice; serve immediately.