Just had to make the title extra cheesy, even though the recipe isn’t 😛 okay I’m done now…
A couple of months ago my chef friend wanted to cook a meal for me and my girlfriends on our beach getaway. We of course obliged her, and were treated to this fantastic paella.
It was my first time eating paella, believe it or not, though I realized that I’ve had a lot of meals that are paella-ish (rice + meat cooked in a skillet? done. times one million.)
I’ve tried to recreate it twice since, and have failed on a few steps both times on account of not having a complete recipe. Thus, I figured I would type it out for your sake and mine.
The Perfect Paella
Mary Catherine Thompson’s twist on a recipe from The Food Network
- 1 lb meat of your choice – chicken breast, turkey breast, and sausage all work great
- Paprika to season
- Oregano to season
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 bunch parsley
- 1/4 tsp fennel seed
- 1-2 orange, red, or yellow bell peppers
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups (1 bag) yellow saffron Spanish rice (uncooked)
- 3 cups warm water
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- Cook chicken thoroughly on a pan in oil with paprika and oregano. Remove and set aside.
- Cook onion with garlic, parsley, and fennel seed for about 3 minutes. Add peppers. Cook until soft.
- Add tomatoes, cook a couple minutes until the mixture caramelizes a bit.
- Stir-fry rice in mixture, allowing it to soak up the flavors.
- Add water and peas. Simmer until rice is al dente.
- When the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for less than a minute until the rice toasts at the bottom. Stir in chicken.
- Serve with a glass of wine!
How do you make paella? How would you tweak this recipe? I’d love to hear!
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