Mexican Food Recipes
Mexican Paella with Chicken and Seafood
The word "paella" comes from the Moorish occupation of Spain and is Arabic for "leftovers." This dish has been famous in Spain since the end of the nineteenth century. The fishermen who served the Moors would take home the leftover rice, fish from their lavish feasts, and mix them together so they could carry them better.
Mexican paella differs a little from Spanish paella because of the flavors. Mexican paella recipes are traditionally cooked outdoors or in the garage in huge iron or stainless steel paella, pans, and different flavors are used. A Spanish paella would not feature chili and actually not many Spanish dishes are spicy. Saffron is popular in both Mexican paella and Spanish style paella recipes. Plenty of olive oil is used in a paella, as well as rice, vegetables and meat or fish.
In the following Mexican paella recipe, chicken is combined with shrimp and scallops. The flavor comes from the addition of saffron, parsley, garlic, chili powder and more. This is a really hearty Mexican paella recipe and nobody is going to go hungry if you make this wonderful dish. It smells incredibly good and tastes wonderful.
The Best Mexican Style Paella Recipe
Ingredients -
1 onion, minced
⅓ cup olive oil
1 pinch saffron
4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red peppers, sliced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 green pepper, sliced
3 skinless chicken breasts, in big chunks
1 teaspoons sugar
1 lb scallops
˝ lb shrimp, shells on
Salt to taste
4 cups rice
7 cups water
8 oz tomato sauce
Preparation:
Sauté the onion, garlic, and parsley in the olive oil until the onion starts to soften. Add the saffron, broth, one of each kind of bell peppers and the chicken.
Sauté until the chicken is white.
Add the sugar, chili powder, and tomato sauce and stir.
Add the water and rice and bring to the boil. Add salt to taste. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the scallops and shrimp and boil for five more minutes, stirring occasionally. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
If the rice seems to be drying out in the last 10 minutes, add more water.
If it is too wet, uncover the paella dish so it can evaporate.
Sauté the remaining red pepper slices in another pan and arrange them on top of the paella for decoration.
Serve immediately.
(Serves 10)
Photo Description:
Paella is a dish you can be creative with. Arrange the red bell pepper on top as a garnish, like in the photo, or use another garnish if you like. Paella is a lot like a salad or stew, in that you can throw anything into it. If you have some broccoli, beans, or carrot to use up, for example, you can add that to the Mexican paella. This recipe is nice if you are having a party or if you have a lot of people coming over. Chili con carne and stew are also good for such occasions but Mexican paella is something a bit and a bit different so that, in addition to the fact it is easy to make, means it is a great recipe to make to impress people with.
