Spanish Rice & Shrimp

This is my take on a fast and easy Paella. Feel free to go as big or little with adding things to this dish. I usually make this with just shrimp but want to go bigger? Add chicken, sausage (chorizo), Mussels, Squid. The base method of cooking the rice with onion and chicken stock can be used as is as a side dish for lots of meals (for example, my mediterranean pork skewers recipe). Adding saffron in to the rice gives it the Paella flare.

Chop up an onion and a red pepper. Thaw some shrimp and mix with a tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, and 1 tbsp minced garlic then set aside for later. Heat oil in a sauté pan (or braiser pan). Add onion and cook until softened. Add uncooked/dry rice to pan and mix with onion and oil. Once the rice is slightly toasted, add in drained can of diced tomatoes and chicken stock.

Saffron is an incredibly expensive spice but a little goes a long way. Buy the smallest size you can find and use just a pinch at a time. So – add in a small pinch at this point and some parsley flakes.

Bring the pan up to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about twenty minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Near the end of the cooking time add a cup of frozen peas to the pan.

While the rice is cooking, cook your other toppings. You can cook these right in the main rice pain and that is the traditional method for cooking Paella. However, when I am doing only shrimp, I like to cook separately which allows for better control of getting the right cook level and shrimp not ending up rubbery. I use a separate saute / fry pan to cook up a red pepper and then the shrimp until cooked through (a few minutes a side). Add the pepper and shrimp to the rice pan. And that’s it! It’s ready to eat!

Shrimp Spanish Rice

Serves 2 people

INGREDIENTS

• 1lbs Frozen Shrimp
• 1 cup rice
• 1 can of chicken stock (14.5oz)
• 1 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Chop up an onion and a red pepper.
2. Thaw shrimp and mix with a tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, and 1 tbsp minced garlic then set aside for later.
3. Heat oil in a sauté pan (or braiser pan). Add onion and cook until softened.
4. Add uncooked/dry rice to pan and mix with onion and oil. Once the rice is slightly toasted, add in drained can of diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Add an additional 1/4 of water.
5. Add in a small pinch of Saffron and parsley.
6. Add lid to pan and let the rice cook for ~20minutes. Near end of cooking time add 1 cup of frozen peas.
7. While rice is cooking, heat some oil in a separate pan. Once heated, add red pepper and cook until softened. Add shrimp to pan and cook for a few minutes per side until cooked through.
8. Add shrimp & pepper to rice pan.
9. Enjoy!

TIPS

• This dish can be jazzed up with tons of other ingredients. Chicken thighs or breast, mussels, squid, chorizo sausage are all things I have added to make the dish fancier.