My first experience making paella was in college. My boyfriend loved shrimp and I was determined to make a shrimp paella recipe that I had clipped from one of his issues of GQ. Long story short, I had never used chipotle before and imagine that I put much more than the recipe called for, because the resulting paella was SO spicy, we could barely eat it (and we both love spicy food). We resorted to transferring the entire dish to the refrigerator and eating the paella cold so that we only had to deal with one kind of heat. It was still REALLY spicy, but also so delicious, we could not even fathom pitching it. I have made it a number of times since, although with a more restrained hand regarding the chipotle. Upon finding out this week’s theme, I immediately dug up that clipped recipe. I used it as a launching point, although realizing that I have never experienced authentic paella, decided to give this version my own twist. I started thinking about shrimp and all the things that might pair well with it in paella. My initial list included fennel, black olives, and chorizo. Fennel made me think of the fennel-orange combination, and although definitely not traditional in paella, the orange is no stranger to Spanish cuisine. Not just any orange, but a supremed, or segmented orange (all sweetness and juice and no pith or membrane) – I was inspired by a photo and decided to add it to the top of my paella along with the prawns. I am so glad I did. The sweetness of the orange is a lovely complement to the salty olives, briny shrimp and warm spice from the chorizo and pimento. I did not even miss the chipotle and will be making this again soon! Notes: Although the ingredient list looks long, once you start cooking everything comes together quickly. Be sure to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin. I used a 12-inch skillet because that is the largest that I have; as you can see from the photo this dish could definitely work in a larger skillet.

Share: