Lazy Paella

Executive chef Lindsay Autry, The Lazy Goat, Greenville, SC.
Yield: 4 servings.

Sofrito Broth
1 medium-size red onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 medium-size red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 medium-size yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 serrano chile, roughly chopped with seeds
6 medium Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped with seeds
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup sherry
¼ cup cream
½ bunch cilantro, torn in half
pinch of saffron
2 qt. vegetable or chicken stock

Paella
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
8 oz. Pamplona Spanish Chorizo, sliced thin
¼ cup shallots, finely minced
½ cup roasted peppers, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
8 asparagus spears, trimmed and blanched
12 snow peas, trimmed and blanched
8 large prawns, deveined
12 calamari tubes and tentacles

For the broth: Heat a large saute pan until smoking hot. Carefully add 3 Tbsp. olive oil. Add red onion and crushed garlic, stirring constantly until slightly charred for 2 minutes. To onion and garlic, add bell peppers and serrano chile and continue to cook on high heat for 3 minutes. Add chopped Roma tomatoes and allow to cook for 7 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated. Season gernerously with salt and pepper. Once tomatoes have cooked down, add white wine and sherry; reduce by half. Add heavy cream and saffron, bringing to a boil. Turn off heat and add torn cilantro. Allow mixture to cool. Transfer, cooled, to a blender and blend. In large hot pot, heat stock to boiling and reduce to simmer. Slowly add sofrito to stock, whisking constantly. Allow to simmer while paella is prepared

For paella: Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 3 Tbsp. olive oil to pan and saute shallots. Once they're translucent, add arborio rice and chorizo to pan, stirring constantly as in the preparation of risotto. Gradually add stock, ladle by ladle, stirring constantly until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Turn off heat and add roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, asparagus and snow peas. Season with salt and pepper. Season calamari and prawns with salt and pepper; grill or saute in a separate pan. Transfer paella to large serving dish and top with grilled seafood. Serve with toasted baguettes.