How nice that there are infinite ways to prepare a paella, so that you can never run out in your whole entire lifetime! Think about serving with a creamy sauce, however, to embellish and enrich!
1/4 cup multicolor quinoa
1 carrot, peeled and cut into half moons
2 slicks celery, diced
1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
1 cup chopped purple cabbage (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup carnival, multi-colored pasta
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup water
1 large chicken breast, or 2 chicken thighs, diced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb shrimp, (about 12, or so) shelled and de-veined
12-15 cherry tomatoes, halved
Saffron White Sauce:
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp olive oil plus 2 Tbsp butter
1-1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/8 tsp saffron, threads, crushed, or to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp powdered cayenne pepper, or to taste
Sauté the rice and quinoa in a dash of canola oil for about 3-5 minutes in a table-ready skillet or small Dutch oven. Add the carrot, celery and onion, and cabbage if using, and continue cooking over medium heat for about another 5-8 minutes.
Add the garlic and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the chicken (and any leftover meat you might optionally want to add) in a separate skillet in a dash of olive oil, until slightly browned, or until the rice-veggie mixture is ready.
Add the pasta to the rice mixture and stir to coat, cooking about 2 minutes.
Add the broth and water (or broth) to the rice mixture, and stir in the chicken. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring dish to a gentle boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook about 20-30 minutes, or until all the water has evaporated. You have to be the judge of this.
While the rice cooks, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter in the oil. Add the flour and whisk until you smell a nutty aroma - about 3-5 minutes. Add the broth, wine, saffron, cayenne and garlic powder, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to thicken. Adjust seasoning with salt as needed, and with water to adjust thickness, if necessary. When ready, transfer to a table-ready saucier.
During the last 3-4 minutes of cooking the rice mixture, top with the shrimp and the cherry tomatoes. Re-cover and allow the toppings to cook through. You should have a carnival of colors and flavors.
Garnish with dill if desired.
Serve in skillet or Dutch oven at the table, and pass the sauce to serve on the side.
Serves 4-6.
Cook’s Note: Honestly, I added the purple cabbage because I love it, love the color, and had leftovers which needs to be used - fantastic but totally optional.
If you don’t have saffron, just use 1/2 tsp turmeric (or nothing at all) and you will still have a wonderful dish!
I added a few pieces of leftover lamb to the chicken, here. And this is not inconsistent with the many varieties and combinations thereof, of paella throughout Spain and its influences. I am convinced that cooks who made this throughout the hundreds of years past, welcomed what was available - much as in French Cassoulet. Using cassoulet as a guide, I would think that turkey, beef, lamb, or pork leftovers would find a welcome (and economical) home in this dish, as well as in its consumers pallets. Just don’t claim it’s “the authentic’.
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