8 PERS. | ± 1 HOUR

Smokey paella with grilled vegetables and smoked mussels

WITH CHICKEN STOCK

INGREDIENTS

For the paella rice:

500 ml chicken stock Bouillon Herkules

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion

1 teaspoon saffron threads

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 tablespoon smoked paprika powder

500 gr paella rice

 

Toppings:

8 fresh chorizo sausages

2 smoked sausages

8 chicken tenderloins

1 kg fresh mussels

4 zucchini

2 red pointed peppers

2 yellow pointed peppers

3 tomatoes

400 gr Paris mushrooms

 

Finish:

1 lime

A handful of lemon verbena (optional is slightly fresher than parsley)

PREPARATION

Recipe by The BBQ Bastard

Preparation:
Prepare the BBQ for direct cooking (directly above the fire or BBQ burners) at medium temperature (+/- 200°C). While the BBQ is warming up, cut the zucchini in slices of about half a centimeter. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for ten minutes until the juices form pearls on the zucchini.

Put the peppers and tomatoes on the BBQ until the skin is blackened. Allow to cool and remove the blackened skin.
Cut the mushrooms into four parts and fry them in a cast-iron pan with oil and some salt until they turn golden brown. Work in 2 parts so that the entire surface of your pan is covered but no mushrooms are on top, otherwise they will steam.
Brush the zucchini slices with oil and grill them on the rack until you have caramelized them nicely.

Add some smoked wood to the coals and fry the chorizo sausages over the fire until they are tender.

Cook the chicken fillets on the BBQ over indirect fire (meaning that they are not directly above the coals) so that they can cook evenly and remain juicy while they absorb the delicious smoke taste.

Rinse the mussels and place them together with some green herbs (thyme, oregano, parsley) in a cast-iron dish and smoke them over the fire. Close the lid of your BBQ so that the smoke flavor can circulate nicely through yourmussels. The mussels are ready when they open and can be easily released from their shells.

Paella:
Take a paella pan and place it above the coals of your BBQ. Pour in the olive oil and fry the saffron and smoked paprika powder in it. Add the chopped red onion after 2 minutes and fry it.

Add the turmeric together with the rice and stir everything well. Then pour over the Herkules chicken broth and cook without stirring according to the instructions on the rice packaging. Use medium heat so that the rice can absorb the broth.

Cut the chorizo and smoked sausage into slices and stir them into the rice mixture when it is ready.
Mix the vegetables and half of the mussels (without shell) under the rice mixture.
Remove the zest from the washed lime and chop it finely. Stir under the rice mixture.
Taste and season with pepper, salt and lime juice.

Finish:
Place the other half of the smoked mussels in their shells on top of the paella with the grilled vegetables and put the chicken tenderloins in between.
Drizzle with freshly chopped lemon verbena (or parsley)
Place the large bowl on the table and let everyone serve themselves. Enjoy!

Note: if you use a wok you may have to stir from time to time, otherwise one part of the rice will be cooked while the other part will remain uncooked.

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