Oven Brown-Rice Paella with Shrimp and Cod

Ingredients

0 of 16 out on the counter

• 1½ cups medium-grain brown rice, uncooked (about 920 g, 4¾ cups, cooked)
• 1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed; buy bags whose label lists only shrimp, with no salt, sodium or phosphate added
• 12 oz fresh or thawed cod fillet, cut in 1½-inch chunks
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup no-salt-added canned tomatoes with their juice, crushed by hand
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp saffron threads
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 375 °F with a rack in the lower third. Pat the shrimp and cod dry and keep them in the refrigerator until step 5.
2. 2Warm the broth in a small pan until it steams, about 3 minutes, and drop in the saffron. Let it steep off the heat while you start the pan. Warm broth keeps the rice from stalling when it goes in.
3. 3Warm the olive oil in a 12-inch deep, oven-safe skillet or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion and red pepper 6 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic powder, paprika and black pepper and cook 30 seconds.
4. 4Add the rice and stir 2 minutes so every grain is coated. Add the tomatoes, the salt and the saffron broth. Stir once, bring to a simmer, cover tightly with a lid or foil, and put it in the oven for 50 minutes. Do not lift the lid. Oven heat is not changed a mile up (CSU Extension); the tight lid keeps the liquid in (our kitchen inference: water boils at only about 203 °F, Colorado State University Extension).
5. 5Take the pan out and uncover. Lay the shrimp and cod pieces on top, scatter over the peas, and press them into the rice. Cover again and bake 12 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque and the cod is opaque and flakes with a fork. Shellfish and fish are safe at 145 °F (USDA FSIS).
6. 6Rest the pan covered for 5 minutes. Drizzle with the lemon juice, scatter the parsley, and spoon the rice up from the bottom when you serve. Brown rice stays chewy; it will not form the crisp crust that bomba rice does.