Healthy Eating Starts at Home: Summer Mealtime: Paella & A Recipe

Today's lunch is pretty awesome. I made a modified traditional Paella. It is a rice dish cooked in chicken soup, and garnished with chorizo, saffron, sweet peas, tomato paste, white wine, & seafoods of your choice. I made use of Prawns this time. You can always choose from squid, mussels, crab, and shrimp. For special occasions, I suggest all of the above for a more savorful meal. This is one dish we love eating from time to time. I would say, one of the comfort dishes we save on occasions.

I have worked with all kinds of recipes online including my mom's recipes. But they're just quite complicated to follow and too many ingredients to keep up with. So I managed to modify all those recipes which brought me down to my one and only that we grew to love and enjoy.

PAELLA {A Simple Recipe from the Heart}

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
4-5 chorizo sausages, cut into pieces
1 (12 ounce) package uncooked Arborio Rice OR

3 cups uncooked Jasmine Rice, washed and set aside

5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Rice wine
thyme and parsley
a pinch of saffron
fish sauce to taste
1 lb shrimp/prawns (peeled and deveined)
1 lb mussels, optional
2-3 Tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 cup of frozen peas
8 slices of lemon, for garnish

Methods:

In a medium pan, saute garlic, onion and bell peppers.
Add in chorizo sausages, frozen peas, tomato paste, rice wine, parsley, and uncooked Arborio Rice or Jasmine Rice (either one only). Stir and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Add the fish sauce (about 2-3 tspn), or adjust according to taste.
Pour in 3 cups of chicken soup and saffron. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes till rice is cooked.
As soon as the rice boils and begins to dry, place the shrimps on top to cook slowly. The steam will cook it just right without over-cooking them.
Keep an eye on your rice and add 1/2 cup of chicken broth every 10 minutes, gently stirring the rice as you add the soup. Do it till you use up all the remaining broth. Adjust cooking time accordingly. You may also steam the seafoods separately if you're worried that they might be undercooked. Then top them as you serve the paella.

I hope you enjoy this post! If you have any question, or encounter a problem, please feel free to comment below. I'd be glad to answer them accordingly.

This lunch is linked up with

Boy & His Lunch's

Grown-Ups Gotta Eat!