Paella Rice with Baby Octopus & Meyer Lemon

Paella Rice with Baby Octopus & Meyer Lemon
Peas, Fennel, Onion
Lemon Olive Oil, Basil, Black Pepper

“Cooking is a love affair. It’s all about falling in love with your ingredients.”
alain ducasse

Ingredients. Ingredients were the inspiration for this “casserole.” A brown paper bag full of gorgeous Meyer Lemons from my friend Judy’s yard. A Christmas gift of heavenly Lemon Olive Oil from my friend Allison. (Thank you, ladies). A charming cloth bag of arroz tradicional from Spain. And irresistible fresh baby octopus at my local Korean market.

“You can’t cook well without good ingredients. If you don’t treat the ingredient and its flavors with respect, if you drown it in oil, even good olive oil, you spoil it.”
alain ducasse

In his fabulous new book Nature, French Master Chef Alain Ducasse shares “simple, healthy, and good” recipes featuring plenty of fruit and vegetables, grains with a little meat or fish, all cooked in olive oil. My dish is an adaptation of his “Spanish Rice with Squid and Lemon.”

Paella Rice with Baby Octopus & Meyer Lemon Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 T. lemon olive oil
• 3/4 c. fennel, diced
• 3/4 c. white onion, diced
• 3/4 lb. par boiled baby octopus, sliced
• 1 c. paella rice
• 3/4 c. frozen petite peas
• 1 meyer lemon, sliced into half-wheels, seeded
• 2 c. cold water
• salt

Saute fennel and onion in lemon olive oil until translucent. Add the baby octopus, stir, and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the rice, stir to coat the grains.

Add water, peas, lemon, and salt. Stir to combine, bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes until the rice is al dente.

Serve nice and hot in the cooking vessel.

Garnish with several grinds of black pepper, a drizzle of lemon olive oil, and ribbons of fresh basil.

Food Network’s

Comfort Food Feast

featuring 

casseroles

Comfort Food Feast is a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with bloggers to share recipes about everyone’s favorite comfort foods. Be sure to check out the Pinterest Board with over 100,000 followers called Let’s Pull Up A Chair! And if this Paella Rice with Baby Octopus & Meyer Lemon Recipe got you in the mood for a comforting casserole, you might enjoy taking a peek at other creative recipes from some fabulous bloggers below…

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