Corned Beef Paella

It was one rainy, gloomy and chilly late afternoon when I had the adrenalin rush  to work around my kitchen and whip up what was to be served for dinner the other night. Jake scored a bottle of white wine and it was to be the missing link to this fantastic dinner dish. Wine, paella with good music at the backdrop equalled two hours of catch up chat with Jake who got busy at work the whole day.

Okay, quite unconventionally, I used corned beef instead of the usual combo of meats and seafoods associated with paella. I thought I’d explore a bit and scour the grocery cabinet for potential ingredients to complete ‘team paella’ for that night. So, shiitake joined, asparagus was in and all the other ingredients just blended well with the rest of my paella ensemble. Ending– the dish was a winner.

Corned beef paella

2 cups arborio uncooked rice

5 cups of water

1 can corned beef

1 can shiitake mushroom, sliced

6 asparagus spheres, stemmed

2 pcs of lemon, wedged

3 tbsps turmeric powder

4 threads, saffron

1 onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

olive oil

In a paellera, saute onion and garlic. Add corned beef and shiitake mushrooms. Mix in arborio grains and turmeric. Coat well with the corned beef mixture. Add water and simmer until rice is cooked.

Meantime, season asparagus spheres with salt and pepper. Lightly fry in oil until cooked.

Top asparagus and lemon wedges on paella. Serve warm.

Easy Paella

History says that paella was once a laborers’ meal. A story closely similar to the origin of  kare-kare which, according to food historians, was a dish eaten by peasants who made a dish out of the leftover parts (bituka, twalya, buntot at tuhod ng baka, etc).

Paella, in its early beginnings in Valencia, Spain (where paella was said to have originated), was cooked over an open fire and was eaten directly from the skillet using wooden spoons. The most common ingredients used were chicken, rabbit, duck and snails. Seafood was kind of scarce in Valencia.

Ahh, I must’ve been one of those laborers who devoured paella in my past life! I love, love the many exciting ways that paella is prepared. It simply makes a great dining experience when paella is seated prettily on my plate!

Paella

2 cups risotto rice

4 pcs prawns

3 pcs chicken thighs, chopped

1 stick chorizo, sliced

5 cups chicken stock

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1/2 cup green peas

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, minced

olive oil

1 tsp turmeric powder

salt and pepper to taste

5 threads saffron

4 pcs lemon wedges

1 tsp chopped parsley

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In a skillet, brown chicken until half cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.

In the same pan, saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, green peas and chorizos. Add chicken and rice. Throw in turmeric and saffron.

Mix well until rice is well coated. Add stock. Simmer until rice is cooked.

Meantime, stir fry prawns until it turns pink in color. Set aside.

Top rice mixture with prawns. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley.