Kosher "Seafood" Paella

    I was first introduced to Paella when I was younger but wasn't really that impressed. It was later on in Panama City Beach, after weeks of eating boring humdrum foods & when my brother had given me a rough recipe that his wife had made once that I decided to try my hand at it and I was very happy that I did! It's a wonderful meal to prepare, it has everything you need in one plate, you need no sides with this dish. You'll need a few different things and ideally if you have it a Paella pan, if you don't, a large shallow heavy pan will do. You'll need the following:

1 1/2 cups short grain rice

2 onions diced

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 red bell peppers diced

1 package mushrooms quartered (optional)

1/2 cup frozen green peas (optional)
1 large piece of salmon (you could also use smoked salmon if you prefer)
1 large package of Kosher Shrimp

1 can of tuna

olive oil

2 tbsp paprika
a few strands of Saffron
1/4 cayenne pepper
salt-pepper

1 tsp cumin

2 3/4 water or parve chicken stock

The whole thing with Paella is to prepare it in stages, start by sweating your onions in your olive oil, once a bit translucent, add in crushed garlic, then peppers and saute some more, add the mushrooms in last and saute again till they become a bit golden. I then add my first half of all the spices and my salmon that I've cut up and the can of drained tuna. When the salmon is half done, add in the rice and stir everything together so that the rice gets well coated with all the veggies and spices. You can now add you water and saffron strands and the remaining spices, do not put in your shrimps or peas at this point. Wait till it all comes to a boil, stir a little, add your peas, lower the heat to a low simmer and cover for around 15 minutes to start. At this point this point you can add your shrimp and cover again for another five minutes. Check for any remaining liquid, if there is non, make sure your rice is done, if you find that it's undercooked, add another 1/4 cup of water and cover again till fully done. Now if you have a Paella Pan, you bring it to the table and serve directly from the pan, with some luck you'll have the crusty bottom which is the best part, if you don't have the pan, transfer to a large serving plate and place the shrimp decoratively on top.

Enjoy!