Greetings Friends,

Just wanted you to be the first to know that there are going to be some fun changes around here! While I will continue to post unique recipes on YouTube from my kitchen (in fact I have a fun one coming up next Saturday) there will be a sprinkling of great videos from my experiences as a correspondent on NBC’s California Live! Now if you live anywhere in California, you can watch me live on NBC Tuesdays and Thursdays between 11:30-12:00. I think there is such a need for a show like this right now, where you can get inspired by the talents and creativity of so many amazing people that surround us. If you live in the Bay Area, you will also learn about amazing restaurants you might have overlooked for a date night, anniversary, or just some weekend fun!

Today I am going to share with you the culinary talents of Chef Oscar at Teleferic restaurant in Silicon Valley. This restaurant is probably the most authentic Spanish food you can find outside of Spain, without needing a plane ticket. Many of the ingredients are shipped from Spain, from olive oil to the bomba rice required to make paella. And let me tell you about this paella:

Do not be deterred by that black color, which comes from squid ink. Squid ink has a briny, earthy ocean flavor, without being fishy. Chef Oscar added the ink, along with a lobster stock and sofrito to season the rice. Sofrito is a Mediterranean sauce made with garlic, onion, peppers, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil for hours to really build that flavor. If you are near Teleferic restaurant, they actually have paella cooking kits and classes to get you started if you want to recreate the same flavor at home.

If you want to try making paella at home, try the recipe below!

You can check out my segment with Chef Oscar, click on the video below:

Squid Ink Paella

Ingredients

• 4 cups seafood stock (chef Oscar used lobster stock)
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup white wine
• ¼ teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 4 plum tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ pound peeled and deveined large raw shrimp, tails on
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ¾ pound whole cleaned skinless squid tubes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 cups bomba rice
• 3 teaspoons squid ink
• ½ pound littleneck clams in shells, scrubbed
• ½ pound fresh mussels, scrubbed debearded
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Combine seafood stock, water, wine, and saffron in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high; cover and reduce heat to low. Keep over low heat until ready to use.
• Pulse onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, 6 to 8 times.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 15-inch paella pan over 2 burners on medium-high. Add shrimp to the pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until the shrimp are golden on both sides, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove from pan, and set aside.
• Add the onion mixture, squid, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to the pan; cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly all the liquid evaporates, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in paprika, and cook 2 more minutes.
• Add rice and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice is slightly translucent, about 1 minute. Remove 1/2 cup of stock mixture, and reserve for use in Step 6; stir remaining stock mixture into paella.
• Add squid ink, and stir just until rice is evenly distributed. (Do not overstir.) Cook over medium-high, 15 minutes, without stirring. Rotate the pan to ensure even heating. If paella begins to look dry in parts, add reserved stock mixture to that area, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time.
• Add clams, hinge side down, equally spaced around the pan. Cover and cook 4 minutes. Add mussels, hinge side down. Cover and cook another 4 minutes. Distribute shrimp evenly in pan, and cook another 4 minutes, uncovered. Increase heat to high, and cook, without stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover with aluminum foil, and let rest 10 minutes. Top with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.