OK, let's just call it Paella-flavored Risotto.
Let me explain.
My best friend rarely gets to the correct coast. So, when she does, celebration is in order. I always ask her for menu requests and, this time, one of her requests was risotto.
Great! Love it! Have all of the ingredients in the house!
But. The hallmark of a good cook, to my mind, is rolling with the punches... And the punch, this time, was great. In the test kitchen's weekly kitchen fridge clean-out, I acquired 5 shrimp, a bone-in chicken breast, some Spanish-style chorizo, herbs, a lemon, and other delights too numerous to name.
So I suggested a risotto, flavored like a paella. She was game... So off I went!
I boned and skinned the chicken breast. I put the skin and bones in a pan with some onion, water, peppercorns, and frozen trimmings from the freezer, and made a stock. I cut the chicken breast into chunks, barely cooked them in EVOO, and set them aside.
Next, I barely poached the shrimp, strained off the liquid, and added it to the already simmering stock. Then I set it aside.
I sliced two of the chorizo into half-inch rounds and browned them a bit in EVOO. Set them aside.
Then I began to make a basic risotto, sautéing diced onion and garlic in EVOO for about three minutes, adding arborio rice and sautéing for another minute, adding a generous 1/2C white wine, etc. You know the drill...
http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/perfect_risotto_at_home_with_chicken_and_tarragon/
As the risotto reached the halfway point (10 minutes or so), I added smoked paprika, smoked salt, and black pepper. I would normally have added red pepper flakes as well, but Deb is NOT a spicy food gal.
I finely diced some rosemary: not too much... it really can taste like a pine tree if you're not careful...
(Sidebar: In the '80s, some friends invited us to dinner. They planned to grill a pizza. They fought over how much rosemary to include. He cautioned restraint, she won. It was like a turpentine pizza. They have since divorced.)
When the risotto was about a minute away from being done, I added the chicken, shrimp, and chorizo back in, along with a handful of frozen peas and some non-traditionally delicious lima beans... let them reheat... turned off the flame...
Very warm bowls. Sprinkled with chives. To table...
A new favorite is born!