Recipe: Paella Fried Rice

Note that this recipe calls for Spanish chorizo, a cured, dry sausage generously flavored with smoked paprika, not Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage. But if you don’t have any of the ingredients called for here, remember: This recipe is a template. You can use a different cooked grain in place of rice, use bacon, another type of sausage or even hot dogs instead of chorizo. Use onions, green onions, green garlic or baby leeks. Add more vegetables if you want (even frozen ones). Skip the paprika and saffron and season with soy sauce or fish sauce. Replace the shrimp with another type of seafood or with small pieces of chicken. In other words, don’t sweat it — fried rice won’t let you down.

1 pound peeled, deveined tail-on medium shrimp

Kosher salt and freshly ground

black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive or canola oil

3 ounces dried Spanish chorizo, finely diced

1 small white onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

5 cups day-old cooked short- or long-grain white rice

1 generous pinch saffron, dissolved in

2 teaspoons warm water

1 cup cooked fava beans or peas

Instructions: Heat a large cast-iron frying pan or other heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp generously with salt and set nearby. When the pan is hot, add the oil and the chorizo and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the chorizo begins to render some of its fat. Add the onion, garlic and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the smoked paprika and cook 30 seconds more, then increase the heat to medium-high, add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until they begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes.

Add the rice and stir so the rice is coated with the oil-onion-shrimp mixture, then use the back of your spoon or spatula to press the rice down into the pan. Let the rice sizzle and crisp, undisturbed, until it’s light brown and crispy on the bottom. With a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the crispy bits, then stir in the saffron and fava beans. Taste and season with additional salt. Serve hot, straight from the pan.