Ocean Perch & Chorizo Paella

For too many people, paella is an elusive dish. Much like risotto, many of heard of it, but too few have actually tried it (let alone attempted to make it). Rest assured, it's not as hard as it may seem and is one of the best ways to utilize a variety of fresh seafood!

Seriously, you could use all kinds of seafood or combinations of seafood for this, but we chose to use the ocean perch from Niceland Seafood as its a nice, mild fish that takes on strong flavors well. It's also sustainably harvested and fully traceable, so it's a fish we can feel good about too, which just helps make everything better!

Additional things you could add? How about clams or mussels? A few beautiful shrimp wouldn't be out of the question either, but here, we kept it simple with just the fish and a touch of beautiful spanish style chorizo. The flavors are bold, but perfect for summer (or really any time of the year!).

As far as the ingredients go, basically everything in this recipe can be found at either of our two locations, so it's an easy one stop shop and pretty simple to put together.

Ocean Perch & Chorizo Paella

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1 1/2lbs fresh ocean perch, skin off, cut into 2"-3" chunks (or other mild, flakey white fish)
• 12oz Spanish style chorizo, diced (we prefer the Despana brand)
• 2 cups Spanish paella rice (Bomba rice)
• 1 medium Spanish onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 12oz jar of Matiz Paella Sofrito
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar (preferably O-Med)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (preferably O-Med Pequal Olive Oil)
• 3 cups water (or fish or chicken stock)
• Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish
• Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add olive oil. chorizo, onions, and a pinch of salt to a large saute pan (or paella pan if you have it) over medium heat. Cook until the onions soften and become translucent and the fat from the chorizo has turned the olive oil a golden color. 
2. Add the garlic and cook for approximately 1-2 minutes stirring frequenlty.
3. Add the sofrito, tomato paste, paprika, and sherry vinegar and cook for an additional two minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add the rice and cook for approximately 2 minutes stirring frequently.
5. Add water or stock and simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the rice is anywhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way cooked through (rice should be starting to soften, but still have some bite and there should still be liquid left). Season with salt to taste.
6. Place the fish on top of rice, season the fish with salt, and cover leaving the cover open just enough to let some of the steam escape. Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until the fish has fully cooked through, the rice is tender, and all (or most) of the liquid is fully obsorbed).
7. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for approximately 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro, lime wedges, and an additional drizzle of olive oil.