Paella

Oh yeah!! I went there. This was basically inspired by my laziness and my desire to not make Jambalaya. I wanted a one pan rice dish and I have not yet attempted Paella... so I thought why not? I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge (believe it or not) so I gave it a shot. Boy am I glad I did!

Ingredients: chicken, raw shrimp (deveined but leave the shell on), chorizo (yup I really had some), onion, tomatoes (I used some fresh and some canned), garlic, green pepper, oregano, paprika, bay leaf, saffron, salt, some scallions, chicken stock or water and rice. 

Here's what I did:

Marinate the chicken: cut up into little pieces, add lil paprika and oregano oregano and little oil and let sit. (Maybe 15 mins if you are in a hurry but an hour if you are not)

In a big cast iron pan (paella pan if you have it but ofcourse I don't), add tiny bit of oil and brown the chorizos. Take out, add some more oil, add chicken and sauté for a little while (don't cook this can be skipped). Take out and reserve. 

In the same pan, add tad bit more oil if necessary, add onion, peppers and garlic and sauté until the garlic smells mellow. Add tomatoes and bay leaf and rice and toast for a little while. Add stock or water (note to self: add water according to rice you measure and DONT add any extra), saffron threads (crumbled in your hands. The more you add the yellower the rice would be but this is an expensive spice. Use your discretion but maybe no more than 1 tsp) and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add sausage and chicken and cover and cook until rice is almost done. Then put shrimp under rice and cook until done (raw shrimp takes approx. 8 mins to be done).. You can let the rice stick at the bottom a little and get crunchy. 

And because it's me and you cannot use up cilantro fast enough, top with some cilantro! Tada! Very yummy!!