Spanish Seafood Paella

I've had this wonderful tasty Spanish dish in a few restaurants in the Bay Area and in San Diego (Cafe Sevilla, which also has a kick'in salsa scene!).  It has been a favorite of mine which I just had to reproduce in the kitchen.  While the actual cooking process wasn't too difficult, the prepping took a while.  Probably due to my inexperience, it took me a while to actually clean the shrimp.  So one time saving measure is to use deveined shrimp.  If you are wealthy enough to afford one, restaurants use a peeling and deveining machine, which saves a load of time.  But for the rest of us, get your significant other or kids to do it!  Another note is to actually use a paella pan.  The main reason is for everything to cook evenly and to have a big enough pan to put in all the seafood.  I originally tried using two 10" sautee pans for the recipe below, which was way too small.  I would use two 12" or larger pan or get a paella pan.  You can also adjust the recipe accordingly.  Enjoy the great classic dish!

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Spice Mix for chicken, recipe follows
1 (3-pound) frying chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Spanish onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 cups short grain Spanish rice
6 cups water, warm
Generous pinch saffron threads
1 dozen littleneck clams or 1 dozen mussels, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 lobster tails (1 pound of firm white fish like cod or monkfish can be used)
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges, for serving

Special equipment: Large paella pan or wide shallow skillet

Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. Have some extra water on hand if the liquid had evaporated.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails or fish. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.

Cook's note: The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.

Spice Mix for chicken:
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken; marinate for 1 hour, covered