I made a delicious paëlla, for the first time ever! (probably not deserving of the name, frankly). I used stuff I happened to have around the house, with the exception of an onion; I was out and had to go get some from the store.

paëlla close-up
(Sorry for my terrible phone pics)

It was so easy, the reward so high for my efforts, that I thought I should share… So here goes.

Improv paëlla:

– preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C
– take an oven-proof dish
– in the dish, in whatever order you want, dump
– 1 onion, either finely diced or whizzed in the food processor (I whizzed it)
– 1 cup of rice
– 1 cup of wheat grain
– 1 cup of frozen mix of calamari, shrimp & mussels
– 1/5 cup of frozen peas
– 2.5 cups of broth (I made mine with hot water poured over a basic bouillon cube + some safran powder–no clue if it was real of fake, to be honest–, chili pepper flakes & some ground black pepper)
– 1/5 cup of chorizo, cubed
– 2 tablespoons of olive oil
I was counting on the water in the sea mix & frozen peas for additional moisture, and I was right.
– mix it all in gently w/ tongs or a spoon/fork
– cover the oven dish

another paëlla close-up

– put it in the oven for 30mn, eventually coming to mix things up a little.

You might need longer to get it cooked to your satisfaction, and perhaps it’ll be better to leave it uncovered a while, or hike the oven temp some – I totally improvised, so I’m not really sure.

Mine was delicious! I think I’m going to have another serving. :D