Paella to the rescue

Yesterday was spent fervently cleaning out the pantry, which is a slide out pantry that hasn't "slid" for quite some time, due to it's state of disarray, and fearing that everything is going to fall out onto my head. It's quite amazing, and rather embarrassing, what you find when you do make this effort. Half opened packets of this and that, still usable, but not visible. I found 4 cans of sweetened condensed milk of all things. I would use this ingredient once every blue moon, so why did I have a cache of it? No idea. I also had lots of half opened packets of rice. Obviously the rice container was too hard to reach on previous occasions, so another packet was opened. The only way I was going to get this job done properly was to empty everything out, check the use by dates, reorganise into labelled containers, then sit back and smile at my lovely, orderly pantry. And it was a great exercise in finding out exactly what I had stocked. Clearly the glut of rice made my decision of what to cook for dinner a whole lot easier.

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

3 tablespoon Olive oil

1 Red bell pepper deseeded & sliced

200 gram Mushroom sliced

2 cloves Garlic chopped

600 gram Chicken breast sliced into bite sized pieces

200 gram Chorizo sliced

700 gram Tomato skinned & chopped

1 tablespoon Lemon rind grated

1 tablespoon Rosemary chopped

¼ tsp Saffron (soaked in a little hot water)

2 tablespoon Parsley chopped

500 gram Arborio rice

3 cups Chicken broth

200 gram Peas

1 pinch Salt to taste

1 pinch Black pepper to taste

Lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

1. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil until warm. Stir-fry the red pepper, mushrooms and garlic for 3 minutes. Remove & set aside.
2. Add a bit more oil to the saucepan and add the chicken and chorizo. Stir-fry for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the tomato, lemon rind, rosemary, saffron mix and parsley to the pan, and stir. Top with the rice, chicken, chorizo, red pepper, and mushrooms. Pour over the stock and simmer until the rice is cooked. Do not stir or cover. Add a little more stock if necessary.
4. Once cooked, scatter with peas, remove from heat, cover with a lid, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with lemon wedges on the side.

Quick, nutritious and only one pot to wash. My day wasn't spent in vain.