Easy Paella Recipe with Shrimp and Sausage
This easy paella recipe is a part of a larger story I created on aphrodisiac tapas. Whether you’re hosting an aphrodisiac tapas night or just want a quick and satisfying meal for the family, this tasty and simple paella will do the trick. It incorporates one of my favorite aphrodisiac seafoods, shrimp. But it also showcases the sensual aromas and seductive golden hue of saffron. (And saffron is an aphrodisiac of legendary repute.) All things considered, you can see why this is a sexy paella.
Paella comes from Valencia. It started as a humble dish to feed farm workers with a little rice and whatever else was on hand. The origin of the dish’s name is unclear. Most historians assume that it derives from the Latin word for pan. But one story of the name’s origin is that it was invented by a man trying to impress his lover. And the name paella is really a corruption of ‘para ella’ meaning ‘for her.’
A Spanish paella recipe adapted for an American kitchen
The dish is traditionally cooked over an open flame in a special, dimpled pan. However, unless you’ve carried one of these coveted pans home from Spain – and I know people who have done this – you will have to make do with the pans in your kitchen. Don’t worry, my version is adapted for home cooks, using both the stovetop and oven in an attempt to produce great flavor and texture. And it’s ready in a relatively short amount of time. Best of all, I adapted it to be made without the thin, steel pan used to make this dish on Spanish street corners.
It is for the same reason that this shrimp paella recipe calls for commercially available long-grain rice instead of the shorter, fatter rice used in Spain. The fatter rice is considered the superior grain for soaking up the liquid but I’ve perfected this easy seafood paella recipe using long grain.
Serving suggestions
If you want to eat this easy seafood paella the traditional way, you put a large dish of this quick paella right in the center of the table and let everyone serve themself. But if your lover likes being waited on, I say by all means plate the paella before serving.
Quick Paella with Shrimp and Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 1 red pepper ribs and seeds removed diced
- 1/2 lb chorizo sausage quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
- pinch crumbled saffron threads
- 1/2 lb cleaned raw medium shrimp
- 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 2 tbsp small pimiento-stuffed green olives plus additional slice olives for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet or stockpot over high heat until just smoking, then sauté garlic, onions and peppers, stirring, until garlic and onions are golden, about 2 minutes.
- Add chorizo and cook, stirring, until it is lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
- Add rice, wine, broth, and saffron and cook, covered and undisturbed, over high heat until most of liquid is absorbed.
- Stir in shrimp, peas, and olives and divide into two individual baking dishes or a large baking dish, cover and put in heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through and the rice has a toasted crust.
- Garnish with sliced olives and serve.
More tapas recipes
Fennel, Asparagus and Artichoke Bottom Empanadas
Mussels in Sailor’s Sauce
Diane Brown is author of The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations For Lovers
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