Moorish Paella

This dish is nothing but flavor.  I love the concept of paella, but so many recipes focus on shrimp, which I cannot eat - in searching for a non-seafood paella, I stumbled across this less than traditional approach.  It's half paella, half Cajun "dirty rice".  It's not a quick meal, or a light meal, but depending on the sausage and stock that you use, you can definitely control the sodium level without sacrificing flavor.  It's also great for leftovers, esp. if you add extra chicken thighs.

I usually pair it with raw veggies to cut the heaviness of the flavor.  I would also recommend pairing it with a light, zesty red - we found a nice Tempranillo like Concha Y Toro or Spanish Sons to be a good pairing.

Moorish Paella

Adapted from NWB's "Moorish Paella"

4 bone-in chicken thighs (you could do 6 depending on the size of your pan)

salt to taste

1 link chorizo (approx. 8 oz.)

1 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. harissa (or 1 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1 1/2 tsp. coriander, 1/8 tsp. chili powder)

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup red wine (rose also works)

8 oz. tomato sauce or 6 oz. tomato paste (add a splash extra stock in this case)

2 cups rice (Arborio preferable, regular white rice works)

3 cups chicken stock

- Season chicken thighs with salt and allow to brine all day in fridge or at room temp for an hour.

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

- Cut chorizo into 1/4" - 1/2" pieces.  Heat large, deep pan over medium-high heat.  Brown chorizo on each side, 8 to 10 min depending on the sausage.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

- Measure out spices and slice onions/garlic while sausage browns.

- After removing chorizo, add olive oil as needed and brown chicken - 5 minutes on the skin side, then 2 minutes on other side.  Remove to baking pan and move to oven to continue cooking.

- Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add olive oil if needed and add onion to cook for 3 minutes. Add dash of salt and some of paprika/cumin mixture.

- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add more of paprika/cumin mix.

- Add wine and scrape bottom for any burnt bits.  Cook 2-3 minutes.

- Add sausage and harissa (or harissa substitute mix).  Stir until spices are incorporated.

- Add tomato sauce/paste. Add more of spice mixture. Stir in and cook for 4 to 5 min.

- Add rice and distribute evenly across pan.  Remove chicken from oven and arrange on top of rice.  Add chicken stock, remaining spice mixture, and season with salt.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

- Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  Consider covering for first 10 minutes (and last 10 min if on 30) to help keep chicken and rice moist.  Remove from heat for 2 to 4 min before serving.