Spaniards will probably turn their nose up at this dish. A real Paella is loaded up with seafood and made with homemade fish stock. I only make that on special occasions. I especially love to make a huge pan of it on the outdoor grill because it’s a great way to feed a lot of people. And it’s something a little different to the usual steaks on the grill :). This is a midweek Paella. Which means it’s easier and much faster to make than the “real thing” plus I’ve snuck in spinach to make it a complete one pot meal. The key to this flavour packed meal is the chorizo. All the other ingredients and flavourings are based on the assumption that you use chorizo so if you don’t use it, you will need to adjust the quantities of other flavourings (I’ve included this in the notes). I really do encourage you to use chorizo though. You can get it at all supermarkets nowadays. Obviously the better the quality, the better the flavour of this dish. Good chorizos have a very intense flavour and when you fry them up, they release the flavoured oil which then flavours all the other ingredients you cook with it and forms the base of the flavour of the whole dish. I make my quick paella using Spanish paella rice which is called Calasparra. It is a short grain rice with low starch and high absorption. If you don’t have this, substitute with normal medium grain rice. The next best substitute is long grain rice (typically used in salads and pilafs because they don’t stick together), then short grain rice (used in sushi because it is sticky). Risotto arborio rice should only be used as a last resort as it will make the paella creamy and……well, risotto like! The recipe assumes you use Calasparra rice so if you don’t, please refer to the notes because you will need to make a slight adjustment to the amount of rice you use (Calasparra and risotto rice are more absorbent than other rices).
The other big benefit of this quick paella dish is that it is great eaten the day after – unlike risotto which is pretty horrid (unless you turn it into Arancini Balls which I’m sharing soon!) The photo at the top was taken straight off the stove. The photo above was taken the day after. I refreshed it by sprinkling on fresh parsley, a light sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. Love to hear if you try it! SaveSave
