Pork cutlet and artichoke paella | paella de chuleta de cerdo y alcachofa

Artichokes are a special vegetable and they have a liquorice flavour that nothing compares to. In this case, pork is very subtle and not so full of flavour, so there is a nice harmony between the two. A good example of a meat paella with a few ingredients I had on my fridge.

INGREDIENTS:

• 120ml olive oil

• 1 pork cutlet, in large dices

• 150g green beans, cut in half

• 1 Spanish onion, diced

• 0.4g saffron

• Half a red pepper, in strips

• 6 tinned artichokes, halved or 4 fresh ones

• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 440g Spanish rice

• 1 tomato, grated

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 2 l of pork stock

• 1 lemon to serve

PREPARATION:

1. Infuse the crumbled the saffron in the pork stock. Keep warm over the lowest heat.

2. Place a paella pan over high heat with the olive oil and add the pork. Brown it for 2 minutes. Add the red peppers and artichokes and saute for 4 minutes before adding the onion. Sauté for a further 2 minutes, add the green beans and season with salt. Caramelize for another 3 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, closely followed by the pimenton and grated tomatoes, cook for about 2 minutes until the oil starts separating from the tomato paste. Add the rice and stir all together for a couple of minutes, making sure the rice gets coated with the oil and sears.

4. Carefully add the hot stock to the pan and give it a good stir distributing the rice evenly. Taste the stock and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cook on a high heat for the first 10 minutes and on medium for the last 9 minutes without stirring. Let it rest off the heat for 5 minutes before eating it. Buen provecho!