Celebrate Paella – a versatile rice dish which brings great pleasure…

Cooking with rice can include making it to accompany a curry, creating  a risotto – lovely with a little single cream added,  rice pudding – divine with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg,  and of course the very popular Paella!  Paella is sold in the famous Portobello market, London where you can eat it al fresco.  You can make it vegetarian- meat free, or with fish and meat or simply meat. The Spanish sausage chorizo is a really fashionable addition to the dish.  It is incredibly versatile as a main course and one of those meals that you can thoroughly enjoy cooking, especially as it is not averse to you  adding a little white wine and your own angle on what’s best.  Below please find my flexible recipe:-

Roughly serves 4 people:-

2 tablespoons olive oil – extra virgin preferred

I large finely chopped onion

1 red pepper, 1 green pepper

frozen peas

120 gm chorizo or two sausages – chopped

1 small tea spoon paprika

large pinch saffron or use turmeric instead – 1 teasp

300gm paella rice

12-16 prawns – Madagascan preferred but any will do.  If they come without shells use fresh or frozen pink prawns in a larger quantity

Chicken/Veg stock which you can add to the boiling rice

Chopped belly pork or strips and/or chicken breast in small bite size strips – pre-cooked in a separate pan

Half a bottle of house white wine

Garlic – to taste, mixed herbs (optional) to taste

Cook the garlic and onion in the oil being careful not to let either brown and add the peppers and when soft, the rice

Tip in the seasonings – saffron and/or turmeric and then when it is stirred add the rice.  Add the chorizo and the chicken and or pork.  Keep the seafood back as it does not require much cooking.

Cook for a while until the rice is nearly soft to the bite and then add your seafood and white wine plus frozen peas to taste.

the whole paella needs to cook together with a watchful eye for a further ten minutes.

Lemon wedges can be served with the dish and there are optional other items you can add to your dish such as sliced green beans or cherry tomatoes.  Some cooks like to add slices of octopus which may need more cooking than the prawns and fresh mussels in

their shells.

You can always have garlic bread to stretch it a little and plenty of wine – red or white.  Chorizo and saffron/turmeric are part of the stars of this meal that make it truly enjoyable – time after time. You can also serve a light salad with it – tomato and mozzarella and or spinach or watercress leaves.

Enjoy.