Macarrones con Pollo

October 17, 2005 | Filed Under Pasta, Poultry 

My new authentic paella pan from Spain!

Last week, I received a special surprise gift when Tattum sent me an authentic, gigantic paella pan from Spain! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It’s so large that it takes up two burners on my stove and I can cook for a whole army on it. Perfect to make food for family and friends!

Not long ago, I’d made paella and realized that the pan is also an important part of the cooking process. My paella turned out fine, but I knew that it would turn out even better when prepared in the proper pan.

Now, I have the chance to make the best paella dishes that I can with my new pan.

Shortly before I received the pan, I’d seen two recipes demonstrated by T.V. chef Daisy, which called for the use of a paella pan. They weren’t the normal paella recipes that I’d become accustomed to seeing because instead of rice, pasta was used. Tattum later explained that one of the recipes is called a fideua. I plan on preparing that next.

I christened my new pan by making Macarrones con Pollo (Maccaroni with chicken). It’s basically pasta, chicken, and a spicy tomato sauce. What fun I had cooking in my new paella pan!

Unfortunately, Daisy’s site does not have the recipe listed, so I had to estimate on some of the measurements.

The recipe basically calls for putting salt and pepper on chicken. You can use a whole chicken cut into pieces. I used separate pieces (dark meat – legs and thighs); brown the chicken in olive oil on a medium flame in the paella pan. When the chicken is brown, add cut chorizo pieces (sausage) in the middle of the pan. Remove the chicken and place aside. Add about ½ Cup sofrito (the special base used a lot in Latino cooking, which I first mentioned here – I made it from scratch or you can use a store-bought version); roughly chop and add about ¼ Cup Alcaparrado (pimento stuffed olives and capers). If you can’t find the Alcaparrado, simply take about 6 pimento stuffed olives and 3 Tablespoons of capers, mix and roughly chop them. Add about 3 - 4 ajicito dulces (peppers) If you can’t find them, you can substitute them with a handful of chopped cilantro. Add it to the pan. Add 1 tsp cumin, ½ Cup White wine, 28oz. can tomatoes (whole or crushed); tuck 2 bay leaves (preferably fresh) into the sauce. Add the chicken back to the pan and top the sauce with a generous handful of chopped fresh cilantro. Add freshly ground black pepper. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, boil Macarrones #28 (pasta) in separate pot. When the sauce is ready, the chicken should be falling off the bone. Put it in a platter. Put the pasta in another platter and spoon a little sauce over it. It’s ready to serve. To make a plate, take some pasta, then place chicken over it. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and chicken. Totally delicious! I served this dish with garlic bread.

In addition to the pan, Tattum also sent me a paella cookbook, with 180 recipes from the Andalusian region of Spain – Secretos de los fogones del Sur (Secrets of the Stoves of the South) by Esperanza Peláez. I look forward to making the different types of paella in the book. So stay tuned to my paella dishes here. Thank you Tattum!

Besos,
Paz

Maccarones con Pollo ready to eat!

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