Arroz al Ajillo (Garlic Rice With Shrimp)

It really is a trifecta of goodness: rice, shrimp, garlic. Yes.. It is that good. It is also incredibly easy to make and terribly quick. It's almost like a fried rice, except you fry the rice in butter (my adaptation, because butter makes everything better) and add a generous amount of garlic. I had some leftover steamed rice from my delivery order of Chinese food, and that's what I used. You could also make some fresh rice for this, but let it cool a bit before putting it all together. Ready? This is gonna go pretty fast! Oh, did I mention bacon? Yeah, that's in there too,,

Arroz al Ajillo (Garlic Rice With Shrimp)

Yields 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

½ pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup bacon, diced
4 tablespoons butter
3-5 garlic cloves, crushed
3 green onions, diced
3 cups rice, cooked

Directions:

I opted to slice the shrimp in half, lengthwise. Not sure why, but that's what I did. Season the shrimp with the paprika, salt and pepper and set aside.

In a medium-sized pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Add the shrimp and cook them for a couple of minutes just until they don't look translucent. Add 2/3 of the green onions. Remove the shrimp and bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon fat behind.

In the same pan, add the butter, once melted add the garlic and give it a quick stir. Don't let it burn. Add the rice and stir well to make sure it is all coated with the garlic butter. Incorporate the shrimp, toss and serve topped with the rest of the green onions.