Recently, we traveled to Spain and enjoyed the sights, culture, museums and of course, food and beverages! So many of the restaurants we walked past and eventually ventured into had specials on Paella paired with Sangria. Paella came in various forms – seafood, chicken, chicken and sausage, vegetable and so on. The same is true with Sangria coming in many different flavors with some featuring brandy, rum, prosecco, sparking water, triple sec or other add ins to fruity red wine.So, I set to work to create Paella and Sangria recipes that meets my family’s taste. I decided on Chicken, Chorizo and Vegetable Paella and Sangria that leans toward an orange/citrus flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces; seasoned to taste with salt and pepper
- 1 lb chorizo
- 1.1 lb Bomba rice
- 5 cups chicken broth-separated: 4 cups/ 1 cup
- 1 packet Paellero
- 1-15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes-liquid included
- 1 bunch small or young asparagus, ends trimmed cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley-minced
- Salt
- Pepper
- Lemon Wedges
Sangria
- 1 750ml bottle of good Rioja wine
- 5/6 cup Foret d'Oranges Liqueur-a mixture of cognac and orange liqueur
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 slices lemon
- 2 slices lime
- Juice from 1 orange sliced
- Green apple or pear sliced
Instructions
- In a large (15 inches in diameter) skillet or paella pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, onion, pepper and sauté over medium high heat until vegetables begin to soften – about 5 to 8 minutes.Add the garlic and cook until fragrant – about a minute. Empty contents of the pan into a bowl and set aside.Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is about 50% cooked through. Remove from pan and add to the bowl with the pepper and onions.In a separate pan, brown the chorizo stirring to break it into bite sized morsels. When cooked through, using a slotted spoon remove from pan and place into the bowl with the chicken, onions and peppers. Discard the chorizo drippings.Add the rice to the large skillet used to cook the chicken. Toast the rice for about 3 minutes stirring intermittently.While the rice is toasting, add 1 packet of Paellero to 4 cups of chicken broth. Stir to combine. Once dissolved, add the chicken broth to the rice.Add the chicken, onions and peppers back to the skillet with the rice. Add the tomatoes, 1 cup broth and simmer over medium low heat for 20 minutes. You may need to add more chicken broth or water if the broth is all absorbed before the rice is finished cooking.Add the asparagus pieces to the skillet. 2 minutes later, add the peas and parsley. Cook until the asparagus is bright green and is tender when pierced with a fork and the peas are warmed through.Add salt and pepper to taste. For me, this is roughly a teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.Garnish with lemon wedges and additional parsley. The lemon enhances the flavor of the paella.
Lessons Learned:
Do not over-stir the rice while it is cooking. Over-stirring could break the rice down and make the dish creamy like a risotto.
Paellero packet or saffron threads? I decided to use the Paellero packet of seasonings because I did not know how often I would be making paella before the saffron threads started to lose their flavor. Cutting back on food waste is an important goal of mine.
Sangria
- Pour wine into a 2 quart pitcherStir in liqueur, sugar and juice from one orangeAdd sliced and diced fruit to the pitcherChill. Serve over ice cubes and enjoy!HAPPY EATING!!
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