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    Eat Love Eat » Uncategorized

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella

    Published: Apr 19, 2015, Last Modified: October 2, 2021, By Sasha Hooper · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    Now, I'm not one to cheat. When I'm cooking, I want the real deal. But, you know, I'm human and sometimes I come home from work and I just wanna EAT. Like, NOW. Even I just can't contemplate whipping up a real deal paella in that moment. And sometimes, I look in the fridge and it's like Old Mother Hubbard in there. Is there a more disheartening sight? Probably, but at 8pm after a long day at work, not to me. Enter 30-Minute Cheat's Paella. Emergency carbs delivery system for the minimally prepared and short of time.

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    Now, there is some chopping involved, but I find that kinda therapeutic and you can do it whilst you're waiting for the rice to cook, so it's not like it adds to the cooking time at all. And the only meat involved is chorizo sausage so no dealing with raw meat at the end of a long day, let alone waiting for it to cook. You can even omit the chorizo if you really want to. But...really..?

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    All things told, this is really nothing like paella. I mean, for a start, I'm using basmati rice here. And do they even put chorizo in paella? Probably not, but hey, we've already established that this isn't real paella. I daresay I'll probably post a recipe for actual paella one day. Anyway, this is really good comfort food and it comes together quickly. What more could you want? An egg on top, obviously.

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    So here we have my 30-minute cheat's paella. It's fast, simple and delicious. I make it with chorizo, peppers and spring onions but you could pretty much change it up however you like. Don't like chorizo? Use bacon. Add mushrooms, peas, or any seasonal veg you like. Add prawns! That would be awesome. Whatever you have in your fridge, chuck it in. That's what this dish is about.

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella

    A quick and easy recipe for a cheat's paella - simple to put together for a flavourful light dinner.
    4.5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe ⭐️ Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Author: Sasha Hooper

    Equipment

    • Sauce pan
    • Frying pan

    Ingredients 

    • 175 g/1 cup basmati rice
    • 300 ml/1 ¼ cups chicken, or vegetable stock
    • pinch of saffron, optional
    • 100 g spicy chorizo, 2 small sausages, diced
    • 1 bell pepper, finely sliced
    • 3 spring onions, sliced
    • 1 large tomato, peeled and diced
    • ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
    • juice of half a lemon
    • salt and pepper
    • olive or rapeseed oil
    • 2 eggs

    Instructions

    • First put the rice on to cook. In a medium saucepan (ideally heavy-based) add the rice, chicken stock and saffron along with a pinch of salt if the stock is unsalted. Bring to the boil. Once boiling, stir with a fork once only, clamp on a lid and turn the heat down as low as it will go. If your pan doesn't have a well-fitting lid, seal the pan with foil before putting on the lid. Cook for 10-12 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the lid on. Set aside.
      175 g/1 cup basmati rice, 300 ml/1 ¼ cups chicken, pinch of saffron, salt and pepper
    • As the rice cooks, get started with the chorizo. Add the chorizo to a cold frying pan and turn the heat on to medium. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the fat runs out and the chorizo starts to crisp up but not burn. Remove to a small bowl with a slotted spoon and remove most of the fat from the pan.
      100 g spicy chorizo
    • Add the peppers to the pan and cook until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add the spring onions, tomatoes and smoked paprika and cook until softened and forming a sauce. Add back the chorizo.
      1 bell pepper, 3 spring onions, 1 large tomato, ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
    • After the rice has sat for at least 5 minutes, remove the lid and separate the grains with a fork. Add the forked rice to the vegetable and chorizo mixture along with the lemon juice. Season to taste.
      juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper
    • Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive or rapeseed oil in a frying pan until very hot. Crack in the eggs and fry over high heat until the white is cooked and the base is crispy and the yolk is still soft. Serve on top of a big pile of rice sprinkled with sea salt and smoked paprika.
      2 eggs, olive or rapeseed oil
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    Notes

    The saffron is optional, but I do urge you to use it if you can. That pungent grassy note is unmistakeably paella.
    If you choose to omit the chorizo, up the smoked paprika to 1 teaspoon to make sure you still get that smokey flavour.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 509kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.2g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 10.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.3g | Cholesterol: 295.5mg | Sodium: 2647.7mg | Potassium: 1280.5mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8.8g | Vitamin A: 305.4IU | Vitamin C: 149.1mg | Calcium: 158.1mg | Iron: 4.4mg
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine British, Spanish
    Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment below with how you got on and don't forget to give the recipe a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag @eatloveeats on Instagram - we love to see your creations!

    30-Minute Cheat's Paella - a quick to make supper dish for those evenings when you just need to eat - and fast! | eatloveeats.com

    And don't forget that egg.

     

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    Comments

    1. Susan says

      September 29, 2021 at 2:11 pm

      5 stars
      Just the ticket to satisfy the appetite in quick time. Yummy

      Reply
    2. Geoff says

      September 20, 2021 at 10:02 pm

      4 stars
      Yup - 30 minutes and easy too.. tasty lunch for 2 in quick time, when one is busy 🙂

      Reply
    3. Julie is HostessAtHeart says

      May 04, 2015 at 4:20 pm

      I don't think you had a thing to worry about. Your site is gorgeous. I am trying to get brave and do the same thing. Congratulations!

      Reply
      • Sasha says

        May 04, 2015 at 4:30 pm

        Thank you, Julie. I'm grateful that you took the time to come and visit 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Sasha, the photographer and creative behind Eat Love Eat. I've always loved food and the memories created as you share it with others. I'm also a freelance food photographer and stylist, working with bloggers and brands!

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