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Seafood Recipe for Michelle Lynn

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    Hi, everyone, this is for Michelle who asked me about a seafood recipe. This is basically a Spanish Rice recipe with seafood added, sort of like a paella, only not so compicated but it does take a bit of work and time and attention.

    As usual, I don't include amounts, or at least only a few. Mostly cooking is kind of learning what works and what doesn't and you can only figure that out from trying things and from messing up a few times.

    JONI'S SEAFOOD SPANISH RICE

    UTENSILS:

    A large pan with a good tight fitting lid
    A spatula and spoons (just round up the usual suspects)
    A few bowls to hold the prepped ingredients to be added to the skillet


    INGREDIENTS:

    Approx 2 cups of brown rice, you can also use white rice. Don't use instant rice, tis an abomination
    1 box of store bought chicken or vegetable stock. You can make your own, of course, if you're a purist
    Olive oil...several tablespoons total
    1 medium sized onion chopped finely
    1 medium sized green pepper (bell pepper) chopped finely
    3-4 stalks of celery washed and chopped fine
    3-4 cloves of fresh garlic minced fine or pressed
    2 15oz cans tomato sauce
    Approx 2 heaping tbsp Mexican stye chile powder....(more...or less...to taste)
    1 small bag of frozen pre-cooked medium size shrimp. You can use fresh, of course, have fun with all the shelling & deveining
    1 pkg of firm white fleshed fish like talipia. Once again you can use fresh if you have it.
    1 small bag of frozen peas
    Salt and pepper, to taste
    Optional: fresh clams, well cleaned and debearded. Good clams have the shell tightly closed. Toss any open ones.

    NOTE: About the seafood. I like to use frozen when I can for things like shrimp and prawns and stuff that are a pain to clean and prep. As far as fish, what you want is a nice firm fish that won't fall apart, either fresh or frozen.


    PREPARATION:

    Place about 2 tbsp of olive oil (use the good stuff. Or any decent cooking oil.) in the pan and heat until you can smell the oil getting hot. Add the rice to oil and stir constantly. You want to toast the rice a little but be careful not to burn it. Turn down the heat if you need to. Add oil to keep things from getting burned if you need to. Olive oil is best if you have it.

    Once the rice is toasted a nice golden brown add the onions, green peppers and celery as well as a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper and then chile powder, sautee until the onions are translucent.

    Add the tomato sauce and enough stock to cover the rice by about an inch or so and tightly cover the pan. Turn down the heat to a simmer.

    This is the point when you kind of have to keep an eye on things. You don't need to hover, but also don't wander off and get engrossed in a movie or something. You have to keep an eye on the pan and make sure the liquid doesn't totally get absorbed into the rice and then stick and burn. Add more stock as needed in small amounts. It's better if it's a little soupy than too dry. You can always take the lid off and let some of the moisture cook off later.

    Don't stir the rice while it's cooking, this is important. Taste test it by taking a few grains off the top and tasting them. When it's done the rice should have some texture to it, it shouldn't crunch but it shouldn't be pasty and mushy.

    At this point add the seaffood. Just push the chunks of fish gently down into the rice as well as the shrimp. Add more stock if it needs it. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes. The fish is done when when it flakes gently but doesn't totally fall apart. The shrimp is done when pink, most frozen shrimp is precooked, so it really just needs to be heated through. If you added clams, they are done when the shells gape, remove any that aren't open. Taste test once again and adjust seasoning if it needs it. Just stir very gently to incorporate any salt or pepper you add. Finally toss a few green peas on top, this is very traditional and adds to the dish. They only take a minute to heat through.

    There. That's it. Plate it on a broad plate with flour tortillas or a good crusty french bread on the side. Or nice buttered rolls and a salad. If it's a little soupy then bowls and spoons will do, it will still be delish. White wine or beer goes well as well as tea or whatever you like.

    Enjoy.

    Hugs...Joni Mari
    "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde
      February 15, 2011 5:29 PM GMT
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  • THX Joni!!!!!!!!

      June 2, 2011 2:26 AM BST
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