Seafood Paella

   

• 5 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 3 ½-pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 ½ pound linguica, chorizo, or Hot Italian sausage,* casings removed
• 2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
• 1 each red and green Bell Peppers Chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 2 cups bottled clam juice
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 1 pound large RAW Shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 Pound  Manilla Clams 
• 1 dozen Mussels, scrubbed, de-bearded
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Set aside.

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bacon drippings in pot and cook over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes per side. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot.

Add chopped onions, sausage and garlic to pot and sauté until beginning to brown, scraping up any browned bits, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, and saffron. Add clam juice and chicken stock to pot and bring mixture to simmer. Remove from heat.

Pour rice mixture into 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange chicken, shrimp, clams and mussels in rice mixture. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and peas. Cover with foil.

Bake paella until chicken is cooked through, clams and mussels open and rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove foil from baking dish. Let paella stand 10 minutes. Serve with lemon and lime wedges.