Chicken Paella

About 2 weeks ago I was watching Martha and her guest made a yummy looking paella chock full of clams, octopus, shrimp, chicken, and more. It looked so good so I suggested it to my husband who knew much more about paella than me (until I saw that episode of Martha I had never even heard of paella - I took French in High School). We searched around the internet for a paella that was easy and inexpensive (as much as I would love to have tons of shellfish it is really not in our budget right now). We found two recipes that looked promising - this one and one from Martha. I went off of them and created my own recipe, which the whole family loved. I don't have a paella pan so I just used my large stock pot (my skillet doesn't have a lid). Go ahead and give it a try. (FYI I used basmati rice because that is what we like and have so if you intend to use something like brown rice it may need more time and liquid).

Chicken Paella

2 Tbsp oil
½ onion, chopped or 1 Tbsp dehydrated onions
½ green pepper, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
3 cloves garlic (2 chopped, 1 smashed with the heel of your hand)
1½ cups uncooked rice
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup frozen (or fresh) peas
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1-2 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp dry Parsley


1. Heat oil in paella pan or large skillet (be sure you have a lid that fits well because you will need it later). To hot oil add onion and peppers. Sauté until peppers soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add 2 cloves chopped garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and chicken. Cook until tomatoes are soft and flavors meld, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking to pan.

2. Meanwhile, in a mortar (bowl for crushing herbs) add 1 clove of smashed garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, and parsley. Crush with a pestle to form a paste-like mixture.

3. To the vegetable mixture on the stove, add the rice and stir until the rice becomes somewhat translucent. Add the seasonings from step two, stir well. Add the stock and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once the mixture comes to a boil cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is done, about 15-20 minutes. Finally stir in the peas and let cook for about 2-5 minutes to heat the peas through. Serve warm.

Makes 8 servings
1823 total calories (228 Calories per serving)