Paella for The Princess Spy

 The Princess Spy, by Larry Loftis, is an excellent biography, which reads like a fiction thriller, full of famous people, adventure and romance. The true story of World War II spy, Aline Griffith, a young American girl, a fashion model, who became a spy and then the Countess of Romanones.  I found the book by happy accident, while looking for another title, which I've now forgotten.  Biography is not my usual reading, so I was very enjoyably surprised by the book, and will be checking out his previous titles.

From The Publisher's Weekly:

"Historian Loftis (Code Name: Lise) delivers an entertaining biography of American fashion model--turned--spy Aline Griffith (1923--2017). Born in the small town of Pearl River, N.Y., Griffith moved to Manhattan after graduating from a Catholic women's college and found work as a model for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie. Griffith's life took a turn after a chance meeting with an Office of Strategic Services operative at a dinner party in 1943. Griffith joined the OSS and, following her training, was sent to Spain in 1944 to search for Nazi supporters among the region's social elites. Amid her information-gathering activities, she met and married a Spanish nobleman and became a countess. She quit spying in 1947 to focus on raising a family, but resumed clandestine activities for the CIA in 1956, though those missions remain classified. Loftis's fast-moving narrative includes plenty of colorful details about Griffith's social life, including lavish cocktail parties and her friendship with bullfighter Juanito Belmonte , and he sketches the battles between German, American, and British spies for influence over the Spanish government with precision. Espionage buffs will be enthralled."

As far as food, there is not much mention in the book, just references to dinner parties attended, restaurants visited, "Madrid's finest", and etc., but no details of exactly what was eaten.  Slightly exasperating.  A minor flaw, of concern only to foodies. And, we can always use our imaginations..  An exception was on page 180, at the Villa Rosa, a flamenco restaurant noted for fine cuisine, where they had Gazpacho, grilled crayfish, perdeces en escabeche- partridge in a sour sauce and sangria.  My nephew is visiting from Spain right now and I do love Spanish food.   At any rate, I decided to prepare a Paella  for this post.  Paella is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine, and is considered by some to be Spain's national dish.  Thus, it stands to reason that our heroine had it any number of times while living there.

Sometimes my dinner preparations involve re-purposing left-overs. In this case some roast chicken, perfect for a Paella. And serendipitously coinciding with Cinco de Mayo. I know it's a Mexican holiday, but guess where many Mexicans came from. Yes, Spain. Also, there are Mexican versions of paella.  For this version I picked and adapted from about three recipes, according to what Bob would tolerate and what I had available.  He doesn't do well with shell fish, so I limited that to the shrimp on top, which he could easily avoid.  I'll just report what I actually did, which went down to rave reviews.  We had the neighbors over for Cinco de Mayo, and enjoyed the paella with a bit of salad, Sangria, chips and salsa.

Paella

Servings: Approximately 5-6 servings (considering it as a main dish) Actually that would be with gigantic servings. We had several each and there was enough for 3 more people.  

 Ingredients

1 pound jumbo shrimp (prawns), cleaned & deveined, then set aside in a cool place

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1/2 lb. chorizo

1 large onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound chicken breast, diced (I used my roast chicken)

2¼ cups short grain rice (par-boiled)

4-5 Saffron threads (or you could substitute 1 teaspoon paprika)

8 oz. crushed tomatoes and juice

4 oz (25up 0 gm) fresh green beans (I used my pigeon peas, known here as gandule beans)

1/2 red bell pepper (capsicum) cut into strips

6 oz. green peas

Salt to taste

3 springs of parsley

1/4 lb. or so of salmon bones (which I simmered for a bit in the stock before using, and then strained.  Just what I did to add to the flavor, and doubt you'd find it in any recipe for paella.)

5 cups liquid, can be water, chicken broth, 1 cup can be white wine and the juice from the tomatoes

3 tablespoons chopped parsley and lemons cut into quarters (For garnish)

Directions:

1.-Mise en place is maybe the most important of all the steps, you have to wash, slice and chop all the vegetables and cut all the meat and remove any skin.

 2.-In the paellera or a large high rimmed sauté pan (I used my largest 12"cast iron pan and it was full to the brim) heat the olive oil, fry the chorizo a few minutes, then add the onions and sauté until translucent, add the garlic and the rice. Spread the rice through all the paellera.

 3.-  Add the chicken, green beans, saffron, salt and pepper.  Add crushed tomatoes.  Add broth (or water) to cover the chicken and vegetables, (per cup of rice add 2 cups of liquid).  Stir and make sure all ingredients are combined and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. 

4 - Cover the pan and let it cook, UNDISTURBED, for about fifteen minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed.   The only time I lift the cover is after fifteen minutes or so to check on the liquid level. If there is still liquid, leave it uncovered and cook for the remaining 15 minutes. Add the green peas the last 5 minutes. Use those last few minutes to sauté strips of red bell pepper and the biggest shrimps with some chopped garlic, salt and pepper in olive oil until the shrimps are pink and done. 

5.- When all liquid has been absorbed, and the rice is dry, turn the heat off and let it rest, covered, for at least five minutes. Before serving garnish with the red bell pepper and shrimp, chopped parsley and quartered lemons.

And, that's all folks!  Topped off with a wee bit of salad on the side, chips and salsa, and of course, a pitcher of Sangria! What an awesome feast!  So delicious!! I'll be sharing this post over for this Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marge, the Intrepid Reader, and at the May edition of Foodies Read Challenge, hosted by Heather of Based on a True Story..