Easy Shrimp and Scallop Paella

For as long as I can remember, I have loved Paella. Well, really, what's not to love, seafood, smoked pork, rice. I fell even more in love with Paella one summer several years ago when I took a week long course for school administrators on teaching students learning to speak English. Our amazing instructor spent one afternoon demonstrating to us what highly effective teaching of these students is like. She taught us the legend of Paella speaking entirely in Spanish. Yep, I took one year of Spanish in middle school. Yep, I remember almost none of it. And yet, while I can't recount it in Spanish, I easily understood it from this great teacher and learned a few new Spanish words as well.

Here's the legend. The men of Spain were called to war. While away from their wives, they had to learn to cook on for themselves.  They were near the sea, so they began by eating seafood, mariscos. After a while, they became bored with eating mariscos for every meal and found wild chickens, pollo. They ate pollo for a while, but soon became bored with it. As they searched their surroundings, they found wild boar and used it to make meatballs, albondigas. Soon they became bored with eating just meat and found rice, arroz. But the only tools they had for cooking arroz were their shields. They filled them with arroz, mariscos, pollo and albondigas. Eating this delicious dish they grew not only strong but fat, gordo.

When one gordo soldier returned to his wife, she refused to let him enter the house. If he had in fact been away at war he should be returning weak and thin. Surely, if he had been at war, he had been taken care of by another woman. The soldier husband tried to explain how he had learned to cook at war, but she wouldn't believe him. To convince her, ella, he cooked for, para, her, ella. She was impressed and convinced that el gordo had learned to cook for himself, so she let him come back home. The dish for her, para ella, Paella, saved their marriage.

This recipe has more of a Cuban twist using annatto instead of saffron. I think it has more flavor, but you certainly could use saffron if you prefer it. I also know that many Paellas include green peas, but I can't stand them so I use green olives, which I think add a much better flavor. It also doesn't have any chicken, but I think the seafood is the best part.

I don't promise that this Paella will save your marriage, it is quite delicious and easy. You should try it soon.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces 1/2-inch cubes smoked sausage (about 1 3/4 cups)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon annatto

1/2 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika or hot Hungarian paprika

3 1/4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth, divided

1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 pound uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp

1/2 pound uncooked scallops

1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add smoked sausage, onions, and bell pepper, and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in annatto  and paprika, then 3 cups broth and rice. Bring to boil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Nestle shrimp and scallops into rice, top with olives, and drizzle with 1/4 cup (or more) broth to moisten. Cover and cook until shrimp and scallops are just opaque in center, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.