I’m not from Spain, nor do I pretend to know anything about the hundreds of years of tradition and refinement that has gone into the creation of paellas. I just had to make a quick dinner for my family the other night, and I had some paella rice, saffron and shrimp on hand. So here’s what I “cooked up.”
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups paella rice
- about 25 t0 30 medium sized frozen, uncooked shrimp (shelled and “deveined” for ease of use by the squeamish eater)
- two small onions, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 a bag of frozen, shelled fava beans
- 1 hand full of those midget carrot nubs that come in a bag, cut into small slices
- 1 qt chicken broth, at close to boiling temperature
- 1tsp olive oil
- 1 generous pinch of saffron
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Using low sided pan, like a sauté pan, sweat (simmer while covered — over medium-low heat) the onions and carrots with about 2 to 3 tbs of olive oil, until the onions are translucent.
Add the garlic and the rice, and stir for about a minute.
Sprinkle the saffron evenly over the rice.
Add the broth, just enough to coat the rice.
Lay out the shrimp and fava beans evenly on top of the rice. Cover the pan and let it simmer over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Taste the rice periodically, and turn off the heat when the ice is cooked.
Serve this dish hot.
Happy cooking.
