birthday paella

back in May, after a major roller-coaster with my sister's health and fight against cancer, i just wanted to be near my dear family and spend a lovely evening cherishing them and enjoying the comfort of each other's company. my sister was only a few days post-surgery so all the laughter gave her a very sore tummy and we eventually had to try not to be funny... only serious conversation allowed. my gorgeous Sam cooked a delicious meal for us all. and my niece made home made profita rolls!

we did get in to a long and ridiculous conversation about the price of saffron and what if we paid for things in saffron instead of coins. 

This recipe is from the wonderful Bill Granger. a friend suggested the sliced lemons around the top which was a nice added touch. Sam replaced mussels with diced chicken which worked very well and i would recommend it. 

Gather: 

80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil 

1 chorizo sausage thinly sliced

200g shallots

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

500g arborio rice

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

1/2 tsp saffron (soaked in 1tbsp water)

1 red pepper

1.25 L (5 cups) chicken stock

300g green beans

18 large raw prawns (shrimp)

300g black mussels (didn't have these in ours as nowhere was selling them that night. you can replace with diced chicken)

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

ground pepper

1. heat 2 tsp oil in large pan over medium-high heat. add the chorizo (and chicken if using that) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7mins until crisp. remove and set aside.

2. reduce the heat to medium and add remaining oil

3. add the shallots and sprinkle with sea salt. cook & stir for 5 mins. 

4. add the garlic, paprika, cayenne and cook & stir for another minute.

5. add the rice and stir to coat in oil. 

6. add the tomatoes, saffron, pepper and stock. bring to the boil and reduce heat to low, cover - stir occasionally - for 15-20 mins until rice is almost tender.

7. add the beans, prawns, mussels and cooked chorizo (& chicken). cover & cook for another 10 mins, until mussels have opened and prawns are cooked through.(discard any mussels that haven't opened)

8. stir through the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

happy birthday to me. can you believe my 11 year old niece made this fabulous dessert?