This is an easy and delicious summer meal and it will satisfy anyone’s ravenous appetite. (August 10, 2011)

Ingredients:

2 chive stems-diced (added with peas)
3 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1  1/4  cup Vigo saffron yellow rice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper, slice into 1/4 length strips and chop 1/4 of them
18 mussels scrubbed 

3/4 lb shrimp (medium), peeled and deveined

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

You will need a large stock pot with cover, a 12 inch fry pan, and a glass casserole dish 8 inches by 12 inches.

Directions:
Cook the onion, garlic, chopped peppers and rice
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and pre-heat to 400°F.

In a large stock pot over medium heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer ( eventually use this pot to cook the seafood). In a 12-inch fry pan over medium  heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic, chopped peppers and sauté until the onion is soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring, until all the grains are well coated, about 2 minutes. Pour all but 3/4 cup of the warm broth  from the stock pot into the 12 inch fry pan with the rice and vegetable mixture and stir in the salt. Bring to a boil. Pour the mixture in the casserole dish and spread the rice in an even layer, arrange the pepper slices on top of the rice mixture and transfer the casserole dish to the lowest rack of the oven. Cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all of the liquid, about 20 minutes.

Cook the shellfish
While the rice in the casserole dish is baking, add the mussels to the stock pot with the remaining broth.  Cover, bring to a boil and cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the mussels open, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a bowl, discarding any that did not open. Add the shrimp to the pot, remove from the heat and let stand until opaque.

Finish the paella
After 20 minutes, remove the casserole dish with the rice from the oven , press the mussels, hinge side down, into the rice. Using the slotted spoon, spread the shrimp over the rice. Scatter the peas and chives over all. Pour the remaining liquid from the stock pot (spoon in gently and evenly, discard the very last few table spoons of liquid as hard parts of the mussel shells may have surfaced) over the rice and return the casserole dish to the oven to bake for 10 minutes more or until the liquid is absorbed.  Some liquid will remain inside the mussel shells. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Seafood, by Jay Harlow (Oxmoor House, 2007).