I made this recipe for  paella last week for the first time, and it was delicious.  I have made Spanish paella before, but this recipe is the best one I’ve found so far.  Most paella recipes have you cook the rice and meat all together, but this one cooks them separately and then combines them at the end.  I thought this made the dish better, and it was easier to time everything so nothing cooked too much.  Of course paella should have seafood; I used clams but shrimp would have been even better if and that is what I would use next time.  Spanish paella traditionally has peas in it, but both my husband and I hate peas, so I usually leave them out.  I don’t think my kids have ever even tasted peas since we never serve them.  Since we weren’t having peas I decided to add spinach to this recipe right at the end so there would be some green in the dish.  It might not be traditional paella, but I though it worked well, and got some healthy greens into the meal.  Although the recipe has a lot of ingredients, but it only took about 40 minutes to make from start to finish.  I wish I had a paella pan, but I was able to make do with my regular cooking pans.

Chicken and Sausage Paella

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
• 1 c. rice
• 1/2 t. tumeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. parsley, chopped
• 1/2 T. paprika
• 1 t. oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c. cooked chicken
• 2 links chorizo sausage, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can clams, drained
• 2 c. spinach

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in saucepan.  Sautee onions for 5 minutes.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes and rice.  Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
2. Add tumeric, bay leaf, parsley and chicken stock.  Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. While the rice cooks spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and sautee the chicken, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper for 5 minutes.  Add the sausage and bell pepper and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. When the rice has cooked 20 minutes add 2 cups of spinach on top of the rice and cover the pan again.  Then add clams (or shrimp) to the meat in the frying pan and let both pans cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Stir the spinach into the rice, and spread the rice out on a plate.  Top with the meat mixture and serve.

For more recipes you can link up at Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.