Poor Man’s Paella

Paella can be made with different ingredients depending on what you have on hand or can find fresh in the market. It can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. It can be made with very expensive seafood or with inexpensive chicken thighs, pork and chorizo. The Campesina version is made without seafood. The Valenciana version features both seafood and chicken (or rabbit).

Today I am making a dumb down inexpensive version. The only seafood I am using is shrimp. I usually make it with mussels and clams because I love the opened shells nesting on the yellow rice but the bf asked me to leave it out today. I've seen other inexpensive versions of this dish made using tumeric instead of saffron. I feel that flavor of saffron cannot be replicated. The tumeric will make the rice yellow but it will not impart the delicate fragrance.

1 large chicken breast, cubed
Olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 cups chicken stock
1 pinch saffron
Salt
Pepper
4 links chorizo sausage, sliced
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Calasparra, Bomba, or Arborio rice
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced (concasse)
½ cup white wine
10 ounces frozen peas


Directions

1. Marinate chicken breast in paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
3. In a saucepan, combine the stock with the saffron and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, lower heat and keep stock hot while prepping other ingredients.
4. In a 14-inch paella pan or large cast-iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat, turning, until browned all over; transfer to a platter.
5. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chorizo to the platter with the chicken. Add the shrimp and cook until slightly pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to the platter with the chicken.
6. Add two teaspoons olive oil to the pan. Add rice and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the tomato and red bell pepper and cook 2 more minutes until tomatoes and bell peppers are soft.
7. Carefully pour the hot stock into the pan. Add wine and bring to a boil. Add the chorizo and stir. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
8. Top with peas, chicken breast pieces and shrimp. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the paella stand for 5 minutes.

I made it it in a cast iron dutch oven. The love the layer of burnt rice on the bottom of the pan.

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Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Tortilla)

The dish is known Spanish tortilla or tortilla Espanola. The Spanish tortilla is a delicious potato-egg appetizer that is found in most tapas restaurants. The ingredients are simple but the results are amazingly delicious.

I used to think that in order to create delicious food, the ingredients must be complicated and sometimes obscure. I've tried several recipes that discredits this belief. These minamalist recipes showcase simple and pure ingredients. For example my almond shortbread is simple, just a handful of ingredients found in the pantry come together to create a melt in your mouth cookie. This tortilla is such a recipe. Potatoes, onions, eggs, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

When making something with so few ingredients I tend to use the best ingredients. This is so unlike Asian cooking. Asian cooking usually involve a long list of ingredients and it is fine to not use all the best or freshest ingredients. The long list of ingredients come together and the end product is a medley of the wonderful flavors.

This makes a delicious simple meal, a no fuss hors d'oeuvre, or a portable picnic meal. I have even taken it tailgating. Who takes tortilla Espanola to a tailgate? Why not?

This is sometimes referred to as a Spanish omelet but I find it very un-omelet-like. The dish is more about the potatoes than the eggs. In fact there is only enough eggs to bind everything together. I've seen several recipes that use a lot more eggs. I find that the proportion of 4 yukon gold potatoes and 4 eggs perfect.

Tortilla Espanola also reminds me of Pommes Anna or Potatoes Anna. The ingredients are slightly different.

Tortilla Espanola

½ cup olive oil
1 large onion
3-4 medium potatoes
4 extra large eggs
sea salt
pepper


1. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and onions. You can use a mandoline or a food processor but I find it pretty easy to slice with my all-purpose chef knife. Why dirty another item if it is not necessary?

2. Heat oil in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the potato slices and onions.
3. Cook the potatoes until they are tender. Turn the potatoes every few minutes You do not want the potatoes to brown or get too crispy. It is almost like boiling the potatoes in oil. This can take a little while. Nuke the potatoes after frying for a few minutes if you get impatient. Season potatoes with salt & pepper when done.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs with salt & pepper.
5. Drain the potatoes, reserving the oil.
6. Let the potato mixture cool slightly and then add to the egg mixture. Let this sit for about 10 minutes. You want the potatoes to absorb the eggs.
7. While the mixture is sitting, clean out the skillet.
8. After the mixture sits for 10 minutes, heat the cleaned skillet over medium heat. Add enough of the reserved oil to coat. Cook about 5 minutes.
9. Using a spatula, loosen the edges of the tortilla to make sure it will slide from the pan. Carefully slide the tortilla on to a plate. Cover with another plate and invert. Add a little more oil to the pan. Carefully slide the tortilla in the skillet. Cook another 5 minutes.

After the flip. The pan is a little messy but it wasn't a complete disaster.

10. To serve, slice into wedges or little cubes. Serve the tortilla warm or at room temperature.

The bf thinks the little cubes are too small. He usually will cut the tortilla in half and place half on his plate.

Note: If you do not want to risk the flipping, you can cook in an ovenproof skillet and put the tortilla in a preheated oven and bake until the top sets.

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