Billi Bi Paella

Submitted by Corporate Chef Andy Stewart

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Fustini’s Robust SELECT olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 shallots, minced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
bay leaf
2 dozen mussels
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
corn starch slurry
pinch saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon water
salt and white pepper

Paella

1 tablespoon Fustini’s Robust SELECT olive oil
2 tablespoons Chorizo sausage
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 red pepper, fine dice
1 cup Arborio rice
2 ounces white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon Fustini’s Citrus Oregano balsamic
pinch saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon water
reserved chopped mussels
4 ounces lobster meat, cooked and chopped
chopped chives

Directions

Step 1.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add garlic, shallot and celery and sauté for several minutes stirring often. Add wine, chicken stock, and bay leaf and bring to simmer. Add mussels and cook until they are just open. Remove from heat.

Step 2.

Remove mussels and let cool. Remove mussels from shells reserving separately. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, then place into a pot and boil until reduced by half. Chop the mussels and add half to the stock. Add heavy cream and butter and bring to a simmer. Thicken slightly with corn starch slurry, season with salt and pepper and divide in half. Stir the saffron into one half of the soup.

Step 3. Paella

Place olive oil and Chorizo into a large skillet and render all fat. Strain if necessary then add garlic, shallot, and red pepper. Cook several minutes stirring often. Add rice and cook to slightly toast. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly until the wine is gone. Add chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and not adding any more stock until the liquid in the rice is gone and absorbed. Once the rice is fully cooked, add saffron and Fustini’s Citrus Oregano balsamic and stir through. Add reserved chopped mussel meat, lobster meat and some chopped chives and stir through. Stuff each mussel shell with plenty of the paella, then broil for several minutes to brown and heat through.