Ingredients
5 chicken thighs (if vegetarian or pescetarian, leave out)
Smoked sweet paprika
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 yellow or sweet onion
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped (optional)
12 oz. soy chorizo (don't laugh, I refused to buy this at first, but the Trader Joe's guy spoke so highly of it and that he prefers it over regular chorizo, plus they didn't have regular chorizo, so I decided to give it a try and it was DELICIOUS)
1 tsp. hot paprika (optional, you can substitute smoked sweet paprika instead)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained, reserve the liquid
3 cups Spanish rice
2/3 cup marsala wine
6 cups chicken stock
1 lb. frozen sweet peas, defrosted
2 tsp. saffron
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (can be frozen)
Lemon slices, for serving
Directions
Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper and sweet paprika. Cook in olive oil in a cast iron skillet, making sure both sides are brown and the chicken is cooked through. Set aside.
In a paella pan (or something similar), sauté the chorizo in a little bit of olive oil. Once starting to brown and fragrant, add the onions and peppers. Add salt, pepper and hot paprika (or sweet if you’d like!). Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a few more minutes, then add tomatoes and cook until onions and peppers are soft. Add marsala wine and cook until almost evaporated.
Add rice and stir until fully coated. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add peas and continue to boil. Once rice starts to soften, add saffron. As rice continues cooking, you may need to continue adding stock. That's okay! Boil until rice is fully cooked. If it starts to stick to the bottom, just scrape it off while stirring. That bit of char on the rice is actually extra delicious.
Slice chicken thighs and add back into paella. Reduce heat. Add shrimp into paella and cover. Cook until just pink, about 8 minutes.
Serve with grilled lemon, or just regular lemon. The bit of acid at the end just pushes this dish over the top.