Seafood Paella

Ingredients

Seafood Paella

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 x 3½-pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 x 7 ounce jar roasted sliced pimentos with juice
• ½ teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 2 cups bottled clam juice
• 1½ cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 pound large uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 pound cleaned squid, bodies cut into ½-inch rings
• 1 dozen clams, scrubbed
• 1 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Procedures

1. Preheat oven to 450°f.
2. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.
3. Add chopped bacon and cook until fat is rendered, about 6 minutes.
4. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels and drain.
5. Set aside.
6. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
7. Add chicken to bacon drippings in pot and cook over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes per side.
8. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot.
9. Add chopped onions and garlic to pot and sauté until beginning to brown, scraping up any browned bits, about 10 minutes.
10. Stir in rice, roasted pimientos with juices and saffron.
11. Add clam juice and chicken stock to pot and bring mixture to simmer.
12. Remove from heat.
13. Pour rice mixture into 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish.
14. Arrange chicken, shrimp, squid, clams and mussels in rice mixture.
15. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and peas.
16. Cover with foil.
17. Bake paella until chicken is cooked through, clams and mussels open and rice is tender, about 45 minutes (discard any clams and mussels that do not open).
18. Remove foil from baking dish.
19. Let paella stand 10 minutes.
20. Serve with lemon wedges.