Dinner: Grilled Lobster Paella

Recipe by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer Smoky paella is perfect for a crowd. This recipe for six is designed for cooking on a charcoal grill—though a gas grill works in a pinch.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Lemon

Health benefits of Grilled Lobster Paella

Lemons can help to prevent oxidative damage to the body, which women with PCOS are often susceptible to. Lemons are also rich in vitamin C, flavonoids, and other antioxidants. They can potentially support the immune system and have other health benefits. Lemons also have a low glycemic index, so they should not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar when consumed in natural form.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 pound Spanish chorizo, sliced into 1/2"-thick rounds
6 stalks green garlic, thinly sliced, or 2 finely chopped leeks, white and light-green parts only
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 1/2 cups short-grain rice (such as bomba, Valencia, or calasparra)
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
7 cups hot seafood or chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1-1 1/4-pound lobsters, halved lengthwise, claws cracked
2 cups shelled peas or frozen peas
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 halved lemons
Ingredient Info: Spanish chorizo; smoked paprika; saffron; and bomba, Valencia, or calasparra rice-as well as paella-making equipment-can be ordered from latienda.com.

Instructions

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill. Let burn down to red-hot coals; rake to edge of grill. (For backup, start a second round of coals in a charcoal chimney on pavement nearby.) Put a 16"-18" paella pan on grill grate; heat 1/2 cup olive oil. Add 3/4 lb. Spanish chorizo, sliced into 1/2"-thick rounds, and 6 stalks green garlic, thinly sliced, or 2 finely chopped leeks, white and light-green parts only; cook until golden, 3-4 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 2 1/2 cups short-grain rice (such as bomba, Valencia, or calasparra); cook, stirring often, until rice is coated, 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads to 7 cups hot seafood or chicken stock. Add stock to pan and season to taste with kosher salt; stir to distribute ingredients. Let cook, undisturbed, until stock simmers and rice begins to absorb liquid, about 10 minutes. Rotate pan every 2-3 minutes to cook evenly.
Arrange 3 1-1 1/4-pound lobsters, halved lengthwise, claws cracked, over the rice. Continue cooking, rotating the pan often, as the rice swells and absorbs the stock. Add more coals from charcoal chimney to maintain even heat under the pan. Cook until the rice is almost tender and the lobster is cooked through, about 10 more minutes.
Scatter 2 cups shelled peas or frozen peas, thawed, on top. (If the liquid evaporates before the rice is tender, add more hot stock.) Cook without stirring, allowing rice to absorb all of the liquid, so that a crust (the socarrat) develops on the bottom and the edges begin to dry out and get crusty, 5-10 minutes, for a total cooking time of about 40 minutes.
Remove pan from grill. Cover with large clean kitchen towels and let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and serve with 3 halved lemons, making sure to scrape some of the socarrat from the bottom of the pan onto each plate.

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