Lamb Paella

Every time we've visited Spain I'd stock up on saffron but back in the U.S. I'd hoard the precious dried stamens because they're so expensive here to buy. Well, that's over. The future is now!

Traditionally paella is cooked starting with raw short-grain Spanish rice. My version is simpler and I think just as tasty. I cook Japanese botan rice in a rice cooker! This is the height of heresy but with this technique I can have paella in 20 minutes instead of an hour.

I cool the rice. For this recipe I also had sautéed the lamb chunks beforehand. When it was time to cook tonight—I got home from the gym at 9:30 pm—I prepared the other ingredients. I soaked the saffron threads in hot water then minced garlic, chopped shallots, diced Roma tomatoes, large-diced yellow pepper, minced fresh rosemary, diced pepperoni (instead of chorizo) and I was ready to cook. I heated olive oil in a Dutch oven on my brand-new Kenmore smooth-top stove and gradually cooked the ingredients starting with the garlic and shallots. I added the yellow pepper and rosemary last. I decided not to use white wine and instead added a little chicken stock after I mixed in the cold rice. I lowered the heat, covered the pot for ten minutes and the paella was ready! It was delicious.