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Spanish Paella

This authentic dish may look complicated, but it's actually much simpler than you might think.

Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 sevings
Author Andrea Price

Ingredients

Herb Blend

  • 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves minced

Paella

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp saffron threads
  • 3 cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 8 jumbo shrimp unpeeled
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 skinned, boned chicken thighs cut in half
  • 2 links Spanish chorizo sausage or turkey kelbasa cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 1 slice prosciutto or 33% less-sodium ham cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cups onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup red bell pepper finely chopped
  • 1 cup canned diced tomatoes undrained
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 3 large garlic cloves minced
  • 3 cups uncooked Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 8 mussels scrubbed and debearded
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • lemon wedges optional

Instructions

  1. Let's get that herb blend ready. All you gotta do is combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Boom. Set it aside.

  2. Now for the paella proper. Combine water, saffron, and broth in a big saucepan. Bring it to a simmer (NOT a boil). Keep the pan warm on low heat. Peel and devein the shrimp, but leave the tails intact; set aside.

  3. Let's put it all together. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large paella pan (or large skillet if you don't have one) on medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute it for 2 minutes on each side, then take it out of the pan (gonna be doing a lot of this). Add sausage and prosciutto, saute for 2 minutes, and remove it from the pan. Add shrimp, saute for 2 minutes, and remove it from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute those guys for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, paprika, and 3 garlic cloves, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the herb blend from step one, the broth mixture, chicken, sausage mixture, and peas. Bring the whole thing to a low boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the mussels to pan and nestle them into the rice mixture. Cook for 5 minutes or until shells open. You can ditch any shells that don't open. Arrange the shrimp, heads down, in the rice mixture, and cook for 5 minutes or whenever the shrimp are done. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Take the pan off the heat, cover it with a towel, and let it stand for 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.