Arroz con Chorizo y Camarones (Rice with Chorizo and Shrimp)

I think it's true, that many great home chefs are born during this COVID-19 pandemic. For a long period of time, we can't really go out, not mentioning dining at a restaurant. So instead of food delivery, the next best option might be rolling up the sleeves and get to work in the kitchen.

Even if the first few weeks of home-cooked food are more so merely acceptable, but there's time to keep trying and time for improvements. People who doesn't cook often now grown into home chefs. And for those who were already pretty good at cooking before the lockdown, they started making more complicating dishes. Baking bread, pastries, authentic or exotic recipes, all start from scratch. This arroz con chorizo y camarones recipe is one example per my case. It's not that hard, but something I probably won't think about when my daily schedule was more so in a rush. Now that I've got plenty of time at home, working on cuisines that I'm not the most familiar with is actually quite fun and satisfying.

Arroz con chorizo y camarones (rice with chorizo and shrimp) - 

Ingredients (for about 6 portions)?

• 2 regular measuring cups basmati rice
• 6 links chorizo 
• 12 to 18 shrimp
• 2 bell peppers (I used one yellow and one red)
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 1 small bundle cilantro or flat leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

How?

Remove the stem and seeds from bell peppers then chop into smaller cubes. Cut the tomatoes into smaller chunks, save the juice if possible. Peel and dice the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Squeeze the juice of half lemon and slice the other half into wedges.

Peel and devein the shrimp. 

Remove the chorizo from its casing and separate into smaller chunks.

Finely chop the cilantro or parsley, including the stems. Save some chopped leafy part for garnish in the end.

Use a big pot or a Dutch oven, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Transfer chopped onion over along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper. Give it a quick stir, continue to cook till the onion turns translucent.

Add in bell pepper along with garlic and chorizo. Mix till evenly distributed. Continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.

Add in chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook for couple more minutes.

Pour in raw basmati rice and mix till the oil evenly coats every grain. Sear for couple more minutes.

Pour in the stock and turn up the heat. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Cover with lid and cook for about 15 minutes.

Remove the lid, add in the shrimps and most of the chopped cilantro or parsley. Gently mix all the ingredients till blended. 

Cover with lid again and cook till the shrimp just about to fully cooked through. If using low heat, should be close to 10 minutes.

Remove the lid again. This time, add in lemon juice and mix again.

Scoop to serving plates and garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley that we saved earlier. Serve with some lemon wedges on the side, in case someone prefers a more sourish taste.

I didn't use any dried spices since the chorizo and chicken stock were already pretty flavorful. But if you'd like, extra smoked paprika or cayenne pepper can be added in the beginning to further enhance the depth of the flavor.

The basmati rice was so good because the grains really picked up the fats from chorizo. Also the lemon did a good job brightening up the senses. Even though I don't make Spanish recipes that often, but it was a good change of scene especially I have been eating Asian food most of the time during the pandemic lockdown. 

Extended reading:

• Cilantro and lime basmati rice