Name: Quick and Easy Paella
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, or more to taste; 2 1/4 cups chicken broth; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 8 ounces chorizo sausage, sliced into thin rounds; 1/2 yellow onion, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 1/3 cups Arborio rice; 1/2 cup green peas; 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips; salt to taste; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste

Quick and Easy Paella

⏱️ Ready in 1h 10m 🥄 Prep 15 min 🔥 Cook 55 min 👥 6 servings 👁️ 1 views

Consider this a gateway paella and the first step to a serious, lifelong addiction. When I first do a version of a classic dish like paella, I try to use a minimum number of ingredients and steps to focus on technique. After learning the method, you'll ideally use a wider variety of ingredients, like clams, mussels, squid, and chicken, which will make your rice that much more interesting. Garnish with extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, and lemon wedges.

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🔗 Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

👨‍🍳 Instructions

Cook and stir reserved shrimp shells and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until shells are pink and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir saffron into shells; add chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until broth is a rusty brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes.

Strain saffron broth through a fine-mesh sieve; measure out 2 cups of broth, pour into a small saucepan, and place over low heat to keep broth hot.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat.

Cook chorizo slices in hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

Add onion to sausage; cook and stir until soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low.

Stir garlic into chorizo mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add rice to skillet and stir to coat rice completely in oil; stir in peas.

Pat rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet.

Arrange shrimp in a single layer over the top of the rice.

Lay pepper strips around and in between shrimp; season with salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Increase heat to high.

When rice begins to sizzle in the skillet, pour reserved 2 cups hot saffron broth over the shrimp; gently shake the skillet to distribute liquid.

Bake rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is almost tender and still a bit wet, about 20 minutes.

Place skillet over medium-high and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and rice caramelizes and crusts slightly on the bottom of the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes.

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