Alright, so I decided to whip up a quick paella thing today, more like a side dish really, wasn’t going for the full massive pan experience. Just needed something tasty to go alongside the main course and had some rice kicking about.
Getting Stuff Ready
First thing, I rummaged through the fridge and pantry. Didn’t have everything traditional, but hey, it’s a side dish, right? Improvise!
- Grabbed an onion.
- Found a couple cloves of garlic.
- Had half a red bell pepper looking a bit lonely.
- Pulled out the Arborio rice – yeah, I know, not Bomba, but it works okay in a pinch for this kind of thing.
- Got some chicken broth from a carton.
- A pinch of saffron threads (the expensive stuff, use it sparingly!). Steeped these in a bit of hot water first to get the color going.
- Some frozen peas for color at the end.
- Olive oil, salt, pepper – the usual suspects.
Nothing too fancy. Chopped the onion, minced the garlic, diced the red pepper. Quick job.
Cooking Time
Got my widest skillet out, not a proper paella pan, but deep enough. Put in a good glug of olive oil over medium heat.
Tossed in the chopped onion and let it soften up for a few minutes. Then threw in the garlic and the diced red pepper. Stirred that around until it smelled good, maybe another couple of minutes. Didn’t want the garlic to burn.
Next, I added the rice. Poured it straight into the pan with the veggies. Stirred it all together, coating the rice grains with the oil and veggie mix. Let it toast for like, a minute? Just until the edges looked a bit see-through.
Then came the liquid. Poured in that saffron-infused water first, gave it a stir. Followed up with the chicken broth. Added enough to cover the rice plus a bit more. Seasoned with some salt and pepper. Gave it one last good stir to make sure everything was distributed.
Important bit: Once it started bubbling gently, I turned the heat down low. Put a lid on (or foil if your pan doesn’t have one). And then, I just left it alone. Seriously, no stirring! Let it simmer away for about 15-20 minutes. I peeked once to see if the liquid was absorbed.
When most of the liquid looked gone, I sprinkled the frozen peas over the top. Put the lid back on, turned off the heat completely, and let it sit undisturbed for another 5-10 minutes. This lets the rice finish cooking in the steam and soak up the last bits of flavor.
All Done
Took the lid off. Looked pretty decent! The rice was cooked, had a nice yellow tint from the saffron. The peas added a pop of green. Didn’t really get that crispy bottom ‘socarrat’ thing, but wasn’t really aiming for it with this skillet anyway.
Fluffed it up a tiny bit with a fork, mostly around the edges. Served it up straight from the pan. It was pretty tasty, honestly. Nice savory flavor, rice was tender. Worked perfectly as a simple side dish. Easy peasy, minimal fuss. Definitely doing this quick version again when I need something fast.
