OK, so here is my first attempt! Actually it was pretty good. The recipe says serves 2, but I find that hard to understand. It’s more like serving for 6! This makes a LOT of food. But, here is the recipe made in the Paella Pan we bought today!

Basque Market’s Paella

Note: Actually this is adapted from their paella recipe for “Chorizo, Chicken and Pork Paella For 2”.

1 T Olive Oil
¼ med Onion, diced
2 lg Cloves Garlic, diced
¼ c Celery, diced
¼ c Pimientos, diced
¼ c Peas, frozen
¼ c Carrots, diced
3½ c Chicken stock
1 c Paella rice
¼ lbs Chorizos, cut into ¼” rounds
¼ lbs Ham, cut into ¼” chunks
15 pieces Shrimp, 25-30 count – shells removed
1 t Smoked Paprika
1 t Spanish Paprika
4 strands Saffron

Heat the stock on a back burner with the saffron strands.

In a 26 cm paellera (paella pan) add the oil and place on the heat at medium low.

Sauté the onion until it is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and allow to cook until the aroma of the garlic comes through. Add the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let the vegetables brown.

Add the chorizo and paprika’s and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the ham. Add the rice and the pimentos and stir well into the olive oil. Add ¾ of the chicken stock, leaving the remainder to simmer.

Mix everything well so that the rice is at an even depth throughout the pan. Do not stir the rice any more from this point in the cooking process.

Add the carrots, peas and shrimp. Add some of the chicken stock if necessary. Cook until the rice is tender.

Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a hardy bread.

Note: The original recipe said that this would serve 2. However, Robin and I ate one helping each and we still had an easy 4 servings left.

So, give it a try or maybe we’ll all get together and make one. Serve it with a good, hardy red wine. It’s not very hard, but still took about an hour. I think the key is to have everything prepped before you start. Think of it almost like a Stir Fry.

It is cooking.

Getting very happy. See the shrimp?

So open a bottle of wine, cut some fresh, homemade bread and eat! There it is. Any suggestions? Let’s do it!