- Mid-week dinner parties should not equal stress. This easy paella recipe was just the trick and inspired by Tyler Florence's search for "the ultimate" paella dish. I spent a lot of time researching various paella recipes on the world wide web because I am quite a little food nerd and combined them into the following recipe. I was worried I would have a big old pot of mushy rice. But using arborio rice (risotto rice) and making sure to fluff with a fork and not stir, really made all the difference. It may seem like an involved process, but when you make it once, you will have it down to a science. This is a one-pot meal, which in my mind, is a great way to entertain (only took about an hour and 15 minutes from start to finish.) Place the paella in the center of the table and serve family style. You could really create a much more involved menu with sangria and tapas before dinner. But we decided to keep it low key and it was a hit! You can really tweak this recipe to your liking by omitting the meat and keeping it just seafood.
- Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (Trader Joe's has very affordable saffron. Saffron is a bit pricey, but you need it for paella.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika or regular paprika
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
- 4 1/4-inch-thick slices fully cooked smoked Spanish chorizo or any savory sausage you like, such as a garlic/herb chicken sausage
- 20 shrimp (uncooked and cleaned)
- 1-2 onions, chopped onion
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups arborio rice (aka risotto rice)
- 2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice or tomato puree
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- A bunch of parsley chopped for garnish
- * add any other kind of seafood you like if you wish: clams, scallops, mussels and lobster if you are you feeling frisky. I wanted to keep costs down, so I just opted for chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
- Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Mix white wine and saffron threads in small measuring cup; set aside.
Combine salt, smoked paprika, 2 garlic cloves (minced), a little olive oil, and black pepper in a freezer bag. Add chicken and marinate for a few hours if you have the time (even 20 minutes will increase the flavor.)
Heat heavy large ovenproof skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté until fat begins to render and sausage browns, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to large plate. Add olive oil to skillet. Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate with sausage. Add olive oil to skillet. Add shrimp, season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of paprika and cook about 3 minutes. Shrimp will curl up and turn pink to let you know they are done.
Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir until mixture has thickened and reduced a bit (make sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the dish. Bits = flavor!)
Add rice and stir to coat, toasting the rice for a few minutes. Add wine-saffron mixture and chicken broth. Bring to simmer. Stir in browned sausage. Cover skillet tightly with foil, then cover skillet with lid. Bake paella until rice is almost tender, about 25 minutes.
Add peas, shrimp and chicken to the dish. Fluff rice with a fork; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and lid. Bake until peas have cooked and rice is tender - about 10 minutes longer.
Transfer to a serving dish or simply serve in the pot family style, with the lemon wedges surrounding the rice.
Muy Bien!
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