A Family That Eats Together: Italian Paella

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

We love paella in our house. I love it because it is a whole meal made in one pot. In this recipe I take the best parts of Spanish paella and give them an Italian twist using arborio rice and Italian sausage. This quick and easy recipe is made in no time and if you don’t eat shrimp, chicken is a fantastic substitute.

Servings: 8–10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Italian sausages, casing removed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1 large pinch saffron
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 small can (12 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 18 count peel and deveined shrimp (buy it this way to lessen the prep work)
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. When oil is hot, add sausage and brown. Add onion to the pan and sauté until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.
2. Add paprika, oregano and saffron to pan and lightly toast. Approximately 2 minutes. Add Arborio rice. Stir evenly to coat the grains in the mixture.
3. Slowly add the tomatoes and stock. Mix to incorporate all the ingredients.
4. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 20 minutes or until most of the moisture has evaporated. Stir periodically to incorporate the mixture. When most of the liquid has evaporated, mix in the shrimp and cook for another 2 minutes until the shrimp are pink but have not curled up. When they curl up they are overdone.
5. Serve immediately.