Pasta Paella

You know when you desperately want to make a great recipe then you don't have the right ingredients or can't for some other reason, well I had that experience just last night.

I had a sudden craving for Paella, well WH can't eat rice so I thought I'd do it with pasta. Then came a phone call and the third member of the dining party announced he hates fish. I was stumped then but decided to have a go at a fish-less version anyhow. Despite virtually every ingredient being substituted for something else, the basic spicing and background flavours were all there and Oh boy it worked and worked well, giving the right amount of Spanish hit that I had been craving. I used kritharaki, a Greek rice shaped pasta which is smaller than the Italian orzo but rice would work even better. The pasta does make the dish slightly more sticky overall.

Serves 4.

150g cubed turkey steak or chicken
100g lean diced smoked bacon
150g peeled prawns
150g sliced chorizo (I actually used wild boar sausage and only discovered when it was too late!)
1 large onion diced
2 red peppers diced
150g peas
150g orzo, kritharaki or rice
2 cloves garlic sliced
500 ml chicken stock (or fish stock)
150ml home made tomato sauce or passata
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
half teaspoon saffron soaked in 50ml warm water
20ml olive oil
black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a pan and brown the meat, add the onions and peppers and stir fry until the veg has started to cook down. Add the chorizo and bacon and cook untilt the fat starts to melt. Add the garlic and turn in the oil but do not allow to colour as it then becomes bitter. Now add the paprika, stir around then add the stock, the saffron in it's soaking liquid and the tomato sauce. Stir in the pasta or rice and allow to simmer for 15 minutes on a low heat and check frequently to ensure it does not stick to the pan. Check to see if the rice/pasta is done and cook further until it is cooked to your liking. You can add extra water at this stage if it needs it.

Stir in the peas and cook for 3 minutes then finally stir in the prawns and allow to heat through. Check the seasoning and add black pepper to taste. You shouldn't need to add any extra salt as the ingredients are salty enough.

Serve, eat and dream of sunshine.