Rebecca’s Recipe of the Week: A Super Paella | Canalside Community Food

I made this on Monday, for a couple of colleagues who were coming round before the start of the new academic year. I thought it was pretty delicious. Serve with tomato salad and a glass of red wine. The recipe is a bit lengthy but it’s not complicated or demanding.

Paella de Cerdo con Chorizo y Espinaca [Paella with Pork, Chorizo and Spinach]
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 dried, mild chile peppers (the recipe calls for Spanish ‘ñoras’ peppers; I used Mexican ancho chiles), or an additional teaspoon of paprika
7 tablespoons olive oil
350g pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise and then sliced into 7mm slices
Salt and pepper
120g mild cooking chorizo, peeled and cut into little pieces
2 large onions (or about 8 minute Canalside onions), finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250g paella rice
1 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika, or 2 teaspoons if you’re not using the dried chiles
900ml hot water
500g spinach, washed and chopped roughly
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Preparation
Tear the dried peppers, if you are using them, into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Cover them with boiling water and leave them to sit so that they soften up a bit while you prepare the rest of the dish.

In a 30-40cm paella pan or a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over a high heat, and then stir-fry the pork for a minute, until it is still a bit undercooked but has browned on the outside. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Set the pork aside for later.

Turn the heat to low and add the chorizo. Fry for a minute and then add the onions and peppers. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for 10 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir well. Cook for a minute, stirring, so that the rice picks up the flavours. At this point the cooking can be paused—the remaining steps will take about 20 minutes more.

Season the pan with more salt and pepper, and add the paprika and peppers, drained of their water (if you’re using them). Toss. Pour in the hot stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until there is just a thin layer of liquid around the rice. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the spinach: put it in a pan with a bit of water and cook it until it’s just wilted. Drain.
Scatter the spinach and the cooked pork over the top of the rice, and stir to mix. Cover with a lid or some foil and leave for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve garnished with lemon wedges and the tomato salad.

Recipe adapted form Sam and Sam Clark, Moro: The Cookbook (2001).