Please don’t be offended by the title of this recipe. It may not have all the love that a typical Paella has, or all the work of a true Paella. But this was pretty yummy and it had the feel of Paella, minus a few of the usual ingredients; I wasn’t going out to the store for mussels but that would have been a great addition.
I was also going to put peas in it but when I went to grab some of garlic out of the vegetable drawer there was half a green pepper. So that was what I used for a little color variation. Plus I really don’t like to throw out perfectly good food and I don’t make a lot of dishes with bell peppers in it so this was a great way to use that up. I don’t mind them but not the biggest of fan.
This was also the first time that I bought one of those yellow rice packages. I understand why this recipe is a quicker version and I will say a whole lot cheaper as well. So why not give it a try. I don’t own a true paella pan but that never stopped me from making it or anything really. You got to adjust! I just used one of my large saute pans that has a cover.
Weeknight Paella
Equipment
- 1 Large Saute pan with a cover
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 small green pepper
- 1 10 ounce yellow rice packet
- 1 15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with their juice
- 4-6 ounce Spanish chorizo - sliced into 1/4 inch pieces substitute andouille sausage
- 1 pound large peeled and deveined shrimp
- 2+ cups chicken stock
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In your sauté pan add the olive oil over medium heat, add your diced onion and diced pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes to let them softened. Add the garlic for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute or two. Add the rice packet and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken stock or water according to the package instructions. Add the sausage on top of the rice. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook according to the rice package instructions.
- about 5 minutes before it finishes cooking place the shrimp on top. Cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes. Serves about 4 people.