Paella.

I’ve only every had paella at a Mennonite’s house – a German Mennonite, not one of those who came to Canada by way of Paraguay, which to me is a pretty interesting trek to take. Oh you crazy Mennos. I love ya. Paella with farmer’s sausage. Good, but not exactly true to the Spanish roots of the thing.

Paella is delicious. Rice. Sausage. Chicken. Shrimp. Tilapia. Peas. OK. So the peas aren’t really that that exciting. But saffron is. Saffron is the MOST. EXPENSIVE. SPICE. In the WORLD. $13.oo for a tiny amount. But, the taste was great. I think you could do without it. All of the internet says you can’t. So just know you’re really flouncing in the face of the masses on that one.

I took my Paella from Jamie Oliver. That guy. He’ll try anything. I’ve decided though that Paella is a feeling, not a recipe. So that’s what you’ll get. My feelings about how to make Paella.

1. Dice two chicken chicken thighs. Slice about a cup of Chorizo. Chop 1 medium onion in to small pieces. Mince 3 cloves of garlic. Make sure you have 4 cups of chicken stock ready to go. Get about 20 medium shrimp out, and dice a firm white fish into chunks. I used tilapia. It was cheapest. That was key after buying the saffron. It’s key to have everything ready in paella. The next time around, I would probably also have a small can of diced tomatoes ready to go. I think my paella was missing a tomatoey flavour. It might not be authentic, but I think it would have been good, and at least tomatoes are more Spanish then farmer’s sausage! Measure out 2 cups of rice. You’ll also want salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes ready to go too. Oh. And the Peas! You’ll want about 1 1/2 cups peas.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Cook the chicken and sausage until they’re golden. Take the sausage and chicken out of the pan. Just set them aside.

3. Add the garlic and onions to the pot, scrape up any bits of sausage and chicken left in the pot, and mix them all together until the onion softens.

4. Add the chicken stock, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, one pinch of saffron and rice to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let the rice cook. After about 15 min. check the water level. If it’s looking dry, add some water. Also put the raw shrimp and fish, and the peas on top of it all to steam. Re-cover. Let cook for 5 minutes. After five minutes mix it all together, and add the chicken and sausage back in. Let continue to cook until the fish and shrimp are opaque.

5. Eat it in a bowl. Be pretty happy with yourself and grateful that you’re living a life that allows you to enjoy the MOST. EXPENSIVE. SPICE. In the WORLD! Life is pretty OK.

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