Paellish

This is a bit of a fridge-dive recipe, and while it is by no means an authentic paella it has a very Spanish taste and feel to it - it's paells-ish with a hint of risotto  - hence Paellish!

There were all sorts of bits and pieces in the fridge: a few mini chorizo sausages left over from Mark's Pork and Beans,  the scraps of a roast chicken, picked off the carcase, stock made with the carcase, a couple of tired tomatoes and a handful of fresh peas.

It didn't take much to turn them into this:

Ingredients (to serve 3)

1 medium onion
2 tbs olive oil
175g paella rice (see note)
500 ml chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaped tablespoon mild smoked paprika
a pinch of saffron strands
6 miniature chorizo sausages, halved diagonally, or about 80g piece of chorizo, cut into chunks
about 120g left over roast chicken, or 1 uncooked raw chicken breast, cut into bite sized chunks
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
about 75g each of any or all of peas, broad beans and green beans, fresh or frozen. If using green beans, cut them into 2-3 cm lengths

Heat the oil  n a wide, shallow pan with a lid and gently fry the onion until soft. If your chicken and/or chorizo is uncooked, add it and continue frying for 3-4 minutes. Add the rice, mix well then stir in the paprika, saffron and garlic. Cook for another minute and then add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the liquid absorbed. Add cooked chicken  and chorizo, if using, and fresh peas and beans after 10 minutes simmering and frozen ones, along with the tomatoes, after 15 minutes. If you prefer a dryer dish, remove the lid and increase the heat for the last few minutes.

Taste, season and serve with a plain green salad.

Note- paella rice is a short grain rice and is becoming quite readily available in supermarkets, but if you can't get hold of it, any risotto rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli would work. But if you are on a budget, these specialist rices can seem expensive, especially when you are thinking of using them in a "finishing up bits and pieces" meal. Have you ever tried using pudding rice instead? It's very much cheaper and is often just a mixture of lower grade and broken grains from the premium risotto and paella rices. I've used it in savoury dishes many times with great success. The broken grains can make the rice a little starchier, but sometimes in a risotto that helps you to get a nice creamy texture!

This my dish for #CookBlogShare this week