Posie’s Place

As I said in my post before I went to Glasgow my best friend Natalie is an excellent cook!! Natalie had prepared all of the ingredients to make Paella for my arrival on Thursday but after all the messing around due to my baggage problems we didn’t get back to her house until almost 10pm, we decided to put the paella on hold until Friday night and went for fish suppers on Thursday (very good choice!).

After shopping all day at Braehead shopping center in order that I had some clothes etc and visiting my little grandmother (she’s 84 in January!!) we returned to the flat and Natalie whipped up the most delicious paella. I had a real hankering for it again this week and so I asked Nat to share her recipe. I should have taken some photographs of Natalie’s masterpiece when it was dished up but I was too late and only thought of it after I had already polished off my plate and her and Gareth’s was almost finished but here is what the remained of Natalie’s Paella by the time I got my camera out!

I hope my attempt did Natalie’s version justice! Next time I will buy chorizo from the Spanish deli around the corner and will also use raw prawns instead of pre-cooked.

NATALIE’S PAELLA

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 100g Paella rice
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 1 Red pepper, chopped
• 1 Cup frozen peas
• 500-700ml Vegetable stock
• 1 Small spicy chorizo, sliced
• 1 Pinch saffron
• 100g Cooked shelled prawns, chopped
• 1 Clove garlic
• Olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Soften the onion, garlic and red pepper in olive oil gently until softened but not coloured (about 15 minutes).
2. Fry the chorizo in a seperate pan until crisp, add to the pan with the onion, garlic and red pepper.
3. Add the rice and stir well until coated thoroughly in the olive oil.
4. Pour over the stock and add the saffron, bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Add the prawns and the peas and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes (adding more stock if required).
6. Remove from the heat and allow to stand without a lid for 10 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

recipe, food, food & drink

I would say my paella didn’t quite live up to Natalie’s but as I said at the beginning I would use better chorizo, allow it to crispen more and maybe use fresh prawns.  I didn’t manage to get any photos of Natalie’s version until it was almost all eaten up but her is the what I managed to snap just before it was finished.