Spanish Rice with Saffron Cream

Have you ever started a recipe only to find that you are missing an ingredient? And not just any ingredient, but a key ingredient? This happens to me more than I’d like to admit. Recently, I wanted to make Cooking Light’s Spanish Chicken and Rice with Saffron Cream, went and bought the ingredients, and came home to realize the person who checked me out never put the chicken in my bag! Blargh.

I was pretty annoyed, but we still had to eat. So this rice became more of a paella without the crispy bottom. And because of the chorizo, it still felt like it could be a complete meal. Anyways, it was still tasty despite my grumbling for wanting some chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 2 ounces cured Spanish chorizo sausage, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
• 16 pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, lightly crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Cooking spray

Begin by cooking your rice. You can do this up to a day beforehand. Just refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add one teaspoon olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the onion and chorizo and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft and golden, stirring occasionally.

Add the garlic and bell pepper, stirring. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice and olives to the pan and stir to combine. Remove from heat. If using an oven-safe pan, you can keep the mixture in the pan. If not, transfer the mixture to an oven-safe pan or casserole dish (I used my paella pan).

Add the milk, tomato paste, flour, salt, saffron, and pepper to a separate small pot over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook for one minute or until thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Pour over the rice mixture, stirring to combine.

Cover with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

My boyfriend enjoyed this dish but I think the chicken would have added a lot to it. Part of my problem is that I’m not the biggest fan of chorizo, so having a chorizo heavy dish just isn’t for me. The rice was really flavorful though, I think the Saffron Cream Sauce added a lot to the dish.

This would also be great as leftovers. You could add the rice to a tortilla and top with lettuce and chopped tomatoes to add some freshness.