Easy Paella

Name: Easy Paella
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: spanish
Ingredients: 4 cups chicken stock (see text); Pinch saffron; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 medium onion, minced; 2 cups short- or medium-grain rice; Salt and fresh black pepper to taste; 2 cups raw peeled shrimp, cut into 1/2-inch chunks; Minced parsley for garnish

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,544)
Comments: Read comments

You may not think of paella as a weeknight dish, but this half-hour recipe might change your mind. The trick is to start it on the stove and finish it in a superhot oven so you get a nice, crisp crust on the bottom. The name “paella” refers not to a combination of rice, seafood, sausage and other meats, but rather to the paellera, a large pan that looks like a flat wok. But you don't need one to make a good paella. A cast-iron skillet will do just fine. Shrimp is called for here, but you can use chicken, sausage, vegetables, scallops, pork or firm tofu in its place.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; The Homey Joys Of Simple Paella

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

4cups chicken stock (see text)
Pinch saffron
3tablespoons olive oil
1medium onion, minced
2cups short- or medium-grain rice
Salt and fresh black pepper to taste
2cups raw peeled shrimp, cut into ½-inch chunks
Minced parsley for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, or as near as you can. Warm the stock in a saucepan with the saffron. Place a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. One minute later, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Add the rice, and cook, stirring occasionally, until glossy -- just a minute or two. Season liberally with salt and pepper, and add the warmed stock, taking care to avoid the rising steam. Stir in the shrimp, and transfer the pan to the oven.
Step 3
Bake about 25 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is dry on top. Garnish, and serve immediately.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,544 user ratings

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Comments

babette6 years ago

Never made paella before...Does the skillet go into the oven with or without a lid?

Sovie7 years ago

Delicious, and such an easy way to make paella. My entire family loved it. Replaced shrimp with 1 lb. frozen mixed seafood from Trader Joe's (shrimp, scallops, calamari) as well as a couple cubed chicken thighs seared with the onion. We eat brown rice so used my largest skillet and additional 2 cups broth, taking 25 extra minutes in the oven to absorb all the broth. The proteins cooked beautifully even with extra oven time. I plan to add eggplant/other veggies next time, as whim dictates.

tracee6 years ago

Please answer the lid ? - do you put a lid on in the oven?

KP5 months ago

Superb! Shrimp cook in 6 min so add at very end. I also added post cooking chicken, red pepper and chorizo (all precooked) a super easy and fancy dinner for guests. Enjoy! Also saffron is best but in a pinch made with paprika instead and that worked out fine.

H7 months ago

Really good and easy. Added garlic to the onion mix. Added jarred roasted red peppers, spinach, jalapeno chicken sausage and browned chicken breast. Recipe as written was a little bland for us but it’s fun to experiment with additions

Wendy K.1 year ago

It was fine, but honestly, I had to do a fair amount of doctoring to make it anything special. I so wanted to like it, but I have other recipes, also easy, that are similar and better. A rare miss from the NYT for me.

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