The Cooking Chronicles: Spanish Paella

Or perhaps more accurate – non-paella paella. I caught an episode of Michael Smith’s Chef At Home recently where he prepared a paella recipe that even I would eat, free of many ingredients that are unappealing to me, but what I thought were central to paella as a dish. The proteins consisted of chicken, sausage and shrimp, with nary a shell in sight. Saffron, another additive frequently used, was also missing from the recipe, but I was willing to overlook that in favour of experimentation.

The best part about the dish was its one-pot nature – once we had browned the sausages and chicken, everything, from the proteins, rice, tomatoes, and chicken stock, were thrown into the saute pan to cook together. Half an hour later, we had a fragrant, hearty meal.

Spanish Paella with Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage

Tomato was the dominant flavour of the dish, and I would have preferred additional notes present. Also, the shrimp had become so waterlogged over the last half hour that the texture was closer to that of lobster. Next time, I would be sure to add them closer to the end.

Overall, I was happy with the paella, and would make it again with some adjustments. The large pot lasted us several meals (both lunches and dinners), which meant less cooking over the week – always a plus!