Paella? Kein Problem.

Those who know me know that I am not the chef of the household. So it was with some trepidation that I chose for my acora-dinner debut something I've never made before: Paella. Thankfully my concerns were unfounded: This recipe is both acora and amateur friendly.

Please take a moment to observe the picture above. These are your ingredients [from l-r]: 500g "risotto" rice, 1.5 cups frozen peas, 1 can of artichokes, 2 cups white wine (Achtung! this recipe will not afford you enough wine to drink before, during and after cooking as well as to add to the recipe itself, so please do plan ahead), 4 tbsp olive oil, 3 packets of pre-peeled and pre-cooked shrimp and, finally, the thing that makes Spanish cooking Spanish cooking: chorizo (300g).

They slice cheese and meat in Germany thin, so if you like your chorizo sliced thick, I suggest stating that fluently and quickly up front when you place your order. Either way, you'll want to slice the chorizo some more when you get home.

Take your one big acora pot, and place 4tbps of olive oil and the sliced chorizo in it. Cook the meat for about five minutes, as you want to get it a little crispy. Stir in the entire bag of rice, followed by one cup of white wine. Once the ingredients are mixed together and you've got a simmer going, add another cup of white wine, two cups of tap water and the artichokes (drained). Stir well, bring to a simmer and then cover the pot and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Once the liquid is almost entirely absorbed, stir in the peas and the shrimp. Stir for about 10 minutes and serve hot.

This dish is very flavourful because of the chorizo, so there is no need to add additional seasoning. Because it uses white wine instead of animal product based broth, you can substitute the chorizo for other vegetables. If you do so, I recommend adding some seasoning.