Paella Salad

Number of Servings: 4-6

Salad Ingredients:

½ cup (125 mL) basmati, jasmine, or long grain rice, uncooked
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) crumbled saffron threads
½ cup (125 mL) frozen peas

200 g (8 oz) cured Spanish Chorizo sausage (hot), casings removed, and sliced very thinly
200 g (8 oz) prawns or shrimp, peeled and deveined
200 g (8 oz) sea scallops, tough muscle removed, and cut in half (horizontally)

2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped green onions
½ of a red pepper, fine dice
¼ cup (60 mL) finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons (30 mL) sherry vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) smoked paprika
1 teaspoon (5 mL) honey
¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt; freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Prepare rice: Bring a pot of water to a boil; add some salt; add rice. Cook, over low heat, until rice is tender (15-20 minutes, depending on the type of rice-check package recommendations). When rice has completed cooking, drain; give it a quick rinse under cold water; and place in a large salad bowl. Stir in saffron threads and frozen peas.
2. While rice is cooking, prepare vinaigrette: Combine vinegar, minced garlic, paprika and honey in a small bowl. Whisk in oil. Season to taste.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to the warm rice.  Salad can be made to this point and refrigerated. Bring rice mixture to room temperature prior to serving.
4. Just prior to serving:  Prepare Sausages, Prawns, and Scallops: In a large sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the thin slices of chorizo sausage and sauté until lightly brown (1 minute).   Remove from pan and add to the rice mixture.   Add the prepared prawns to the pan; stir and sauté until just cooked through (3-5 minutes). Remove from pan and add to the rice mixture.   Add the prepared scallops to the pan; sauté on each side until just cooked through (2 minutes per side). Remove from pan and add to the rice mixture.
5. Stir in green onions, red peppers, and parsley. Stir in remaining vinaigrette.

Questions and comments are always welcome    alex@chilipeppersandpears.com ^[1]