Simple Paella..Because Who Has Time to be Complicated?

Traditional Paella has A LOT going on, i'm talking mussels, shrimp, chicken and all kinds of stuff. I don't know about you but I don't have time for all that.This is a simplified version that you can make pretty easily at home. But don't be fooled it's delicious with tons of flavor and looks pretty fancy if I do say so myself. I can promise you that you more than likely won't have any left overs with this one. For this dish you are first going to be making a saffron stock (yeah I said saffron, I know it can be crazy expensive but it's just not the same without it. So go ahead and suffer through spending 10-16 bucks on a bottle of saffron threads. I promise it will be worth it.) Then building everything together and finishing it off in the oven. So that being said, make sure you are using an oven safe skillet/frying pan. For this delicious dish you are going to need:

Frozen large shrimp with the shells on (How much is up to you, you need enough to go around the pan, I just used about 4 handfuls.)

1/2 Teaspoon saffron threads

2 1/4 Cups chicken broth

1 Package any smoky or spicy sausage you like

1/2 yellow onion diced

Minced garlic (I like to buy mine pre minced and store it in the fridge. I use about 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon for this)

1 1/3 cup Arborio rice (Or Bamba is you can find that, but I never can. Arborio is in most grocery stores.)

Frozen green peas (Again this amount is however much you want to add.)

2 cups of the hot saffron broth (which you make from the first set of ingredients, don't worry i'll walk you through it.)

1 Red bell-pepper julienned

The first thing you want to do is thaw and peel your shrimp, reserve your shells in a sauce pot or stock pot and place that on the stove with some olive oil at medium heat. Saute your shells until they go completely pink/orange in color and at that point add in your saffron. Continue to saute on medium heat for another 5 minutes or so, letting that saffron flavor really combined with the shrimp. (You might feel like the shrimp are burning because they may start to sizzle, but that's normal. Next add the 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth to the pot and stir until everything is well combined.

Then bring your heat back to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. While that's doing its thing go ahead and prep your other ingredients. That means julienne your bell-pepper and dice your onion. And if you are using fresh garlic go ahead and get that minced. Also get your sausage sliced up, thick thin it doesn't really matter. To be honest I did about half an half and nobody has complained yet. And not included in the ingredient list, but drinking a nice cold beer while you make this meal never hurts. (And yes I realize I forgot the peas in this photo...but this is a no judgement zone! So just remember you do need to have frozen peas.)

After the 20 minutes have passed, go ahead and strain the stock you just made right back into the measuring cup you used for the chicken broth. You need to end up with exactly 2 cups of stock. Now mine always seems to cook down to less than two cups, that's ok. You can fix it by taking some more plain chicken broth and letting it go through the strainer (with the shells still in) until the stock measures at 2 cups. I was actually a bit over 2 cups in the photo below, so I poured some out until I got to exactly 2.

At this point go ahead and preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then in an oven safe frying pan or skillet on medium heat add some olive oil and your sausage. Let that sausage cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Then you can add in your onion and let it cook until it starts to go translucent, then add in the garlic and stir everything together for 1-2 minutes. At this point take the heat down to low and add your rice to the pan. You want to make sure that all your rice gets coated with the oil. I usually have to add a little more olive to do this, so don't worry if you need to also. Now you will want to make sure the mixture is coating the bottom of the pan evenly, and add in your peas. (However much or little you like, just make sure to distribute evenly.) Then its time to place your shrimp in a single layer around the pan. (You can look at the first photo if you need some reference.) After the shrimp go ahead and do the same thing with your bell-pepper slices, just place them around your shrimp and around the outside of the pan. (Again you can use the first photo for reference if you like.) Now put your heat back up to high, and when you hear everything start to sizzle add in that delicious saffron broth we made earlier. Now this baby is ready to go into the center of a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Once the paella comes out of the oven you have one last step before serving. Your rice will probably need about 3 minutes on the stove-top at medium-high heat. This will steam the rice to the perfect texture. And then you are ready to enjoy! I usually serve this with some Telera rolls, which is a nice Spanish bread (That you can normally find pre-made in your grocery store's bakery.) So while this isn't a traditional paella, it sure as hell is a delicious and easy version you can make at home.