La Tapa Paella for Two
Chef Alexandra Ewald, La Tapa, Cruz Bay, St. John
Adapted by StarChefs

Yield: 4 Servings

For the Rice:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup carrot, finely diced
• 1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic, minced
• Pinch of saffron
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cups long grain rice
• Olive oil
• Chicken stock

In a large saucepan heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and pepper; sauté for one minute. Add the garlic, saffron, bay leaves; pour in the rice. Stir well, adding a small amount of olive oil to coat rice, then sauté until rice is translucent. Add enough chicken stock to submerge rice by one inch. Simmer with lid on until al dente. Remove rice from pot and spread out on large sheet pan so that rice stops cooking.

For the Paella:

• 4 1-inch slices of hot Italian sausage or chorizo
• 4 ounces of your choice of chicken parts with skin
• 4 whole shrimp, with head on, unpeeled
• 2 ounces lobster meat
• 2 ounces fish
• 2 ounces sliced calamari, tentacles kept whole
• 8 mussels, preferably black
• 4 frozen whole cooked crawfish
• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Dash of habanero hot sauce
• Spring of thyme
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• Red peppers, thinly sliced
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Fresh cilantro, sliced (optional)