Paella novice

It is funny how many times I find myself about to type " I have never made...blah blah blah...before..." It is hard to believe that over the past year blogging and experimenting and generally being inspired by celebrity and amature cooks there are still heaps of what I would consider ordinary foods I haven't attempted yet.  Now, I am not saying that Paella is by any means ordinary, it is very special (hello...seafood!) but I mean that it is a dish that graces tables in the homes of Spain on a regular basis (right?)...heck it is sold as streetfood at markets in London...and so I am totally amazed that I haven't made it myself yet.  Ashamedly it took Nigella's simple pantry paella to get my butt into gear.  I say ashamedly because it is such a simple yet stunning dish that I am ashamed to say I haven't made it before and it took my latest cookbook purchase to knock some sense into my paella-blocked brain! 

In my defense I have made a heck of a lot of risotto over the last year (and throughout my cooking life)...or perhaps it was my afinity to a good risotto that's been holding me back...whatever the underlying issue has been it all ended last night with the creation and inhalation of my own version of Nigella's striaight forward, no mess, pantry paella.  In true Nigella fashion this seems effortless, and in truth it is...except I don't just happen to have bags of frozen frutti di mare tucked away in my freezer, or readily available cleaned baby squid....but, planning ahead (in true Victoria fashion) I had picked up a packet of frozen jumbo shrimp Monday in anticipation of this meal...oh and paella rice...and lemon...the frozen peas I already had...and the onion and garlic...but I can't declare this to be a pantry paella in Nigella's true sense of the words. The hardest part? you may ask....not stirring!! Oh my god it took every ounce of my mental strength to not stir...