Mmm Paella

As we all know Cinco De Mayo was this past Thursday. In celebration of the holiday I opted not to go out and drink until I passed out on a couch, but instead I wanted to have some good Spanish food. I know Paella's technically come from Spain and not Mexico, which is the real country to be celebrated but all the Mexican restaurants were crowded, so I figured Spanish food would do. I ended up going to La Fonda on Peachtree for the first time and I loved it. I had the Paella Del Mar for two, which has yellow rice cooked with shrimp, calamari, salmon, sea scallops, mussels, green peppers, onions, pimentos and clam juice. I truly enjoyed it. Here is a recipe that is similar to the one I had, courtesy of http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/18/food/fo-sos18.

What you will need:

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped garlic

1 cup grated tomatoes or tomato pulp

1/4 pound cod fillet, or other firm white-fleshed fish, cut in cubes

4 whole squid bodies, cleaned and cut into rings

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 3/4 cups fish or vegetable broth, more as needed

1 pinch saffron

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups Bomba, Valenciano or Vialone Nano rice

8 mussels, cleaned

8 large shrimp, peeled

How to make it:

1. Make the sofrito. Heat a 12-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil, then the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the grated tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have lost most of their moisture and the sofrito is reduced to about one-fourth cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and place the sofrito in a small bowl. Wipe the pan.

2. Return the pan to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining oil, then the cod and squid. Sear the fish, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sofrito back to the pan. Cook, stirring the sofrito with the fish to blend the flavors, for 3 minutes. Add the wine, stirring to remove any bits of flavoring from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 1 minute.