Name: Pretty Awesome Paella Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 10 cups
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 medium onion (chopped); 3 carrots (chopped); 2 stalks celery (chopped); 2 teaspoons salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 32 ounces chicken broth; 1 cup dry white wine; 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (crushed); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 boneless (skinless chicken breasts, chopped in bite sized pieces); 2 tablespoons butter; 1 pound shrimp (shells off and deveined); 2 chorizo sausages (chopped); 3/4 cup orzo

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This is my pretty awesome paella soup recipe! It is nicely spicy and and really delicious!

I didn’t even know that paella soup was a ‘thing’! I got the idea because I love paella, but didn’t want it with rice. Not that I don’t love it with rice, I just wanted something different. So, I thought to myself,

“Let me make a paella soup!”

I thought I was being so clever.

Well, it turns out that I’m not so original. Other peeps have made paella soup! This is my version.

My Sister

I’ve spoken about my sister Nancy in a few different posts. If you would like to read about her, go here.

I developed a love for paella because of Nancy. Let me back up a little. My folks, along with some of our relatives, used to visit Cape Cod. They would rent rooms in Hyannis for the weekend and while they were on their trip, they’d go to a restaurant that was called Marie Jean’s.

It is no longer open, which stinks because they had the best prime rib and paella!

Then came Nancy and I. We used to go to Cape Cod together and frequent that restaurant. We used to take turns getting those two dishes and then we would share them.

It was the best paella I’ve ever had. I have tried to duplicate it, but have never been able to. This soup is pretty close!

A funny story about leftovers

One such trip, we waddled back from Marie Jean’s restaurant and instead of putting the leftovers in the minuscule fridge, we put it out on the little balcony because it was winter and snowy. We dug little holes and we placed our leftovers in them.

And since we were both full, we lounged in bed and went to sleep.

Fast forward to the next morning.

Nancy went outside to check on our leftovers and all she saw was empty styrofoam containers and a trail of paella juice.

I actually thought it was funny, but Nancy didn’t. She glared at me and said, “Stop laughing. It’s not funny.”

I said, “It is, sort of.”

She didn’t believe me and we had to go back to Marie Jean’s that night to eat. So, that loss became a win!

On to the pretty awesome paella soup recipe

I start by getting a medium onion, three carrots and two stalks of celery. I chop them all in chunks and heat up my stockpot on medium. I add two tablespoons olive oil and once that’s heated, I add the chopped vegetables, salt and a little pepper and sauté them for 10 minutes.

This is what it looks like all sautéed!

Time to gather the saffron threads, orzo, white wine and chicken broth.

I add 48 ounces of chicken broth, 1 cup of white wine and anywhere from 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads, crushed. I use my little mortar and pestle to crush the threads. I turn the heat to medium and wait for the combined liquids to come to a boil.

While I wait, I get my chicken breasts and cut them up in chunks. I take the shells off some shrimp and make sure they are deveined. I also get my package of chorizo sausage!

I heat up my sauté pan and put a little oil in it. I sauté the chicken 10 minutes tops, turning every little piece to make sure it is browned. It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through since you will be placing it in the soup to cook a little more.

Sauté

Time for the shrimp. I place 2 tablespoons of butter in the sauté pan and add the shrimp. I stand there and stir the shrimp for 5 minutes. Once it’s done I set it aside.

Now, to save time, you could sauté the chicken and shrimp (in different pans) at the same time but I had to do them separately.

While they are sautéing, I chop up two chorizo sausages.

Once the broth and veggies come to a boil, I lower the heat to a simmer and add the chicken and chorizo to the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

I add the orzo and let it simmer with everything else for 8 minutes.

I add the shrimp and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.

DING

All that is left is to ladle some in a bowl and eat it all up.

And so I do.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Please feel free to leave me a comment, Pin any photo to Pinterest and Yum the recipe to Yummly!

Do you have a funny leftover story? Leave me a comment about it.

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this paella soup or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!