PAELLA
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs – cut into thirds
- 2 cooking chorizo – cut into 1cm rounds
- Handful Mussels (3-4/person)
- Handful of prawns – peeled and de-veined
- 400g paella rice
- 2 capsicum – mix of colours
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 litre chicken stock
- plus 350ml extra
- 150ml olive oil
- 300g skinned, halved, seeded and grated tomatoes
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
Method
Use a 40cm Paella pan – and make sure it is level on the stove top!
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat stock in a saucepan.
In the Paella pan, add a little oil and cook chorizo over a gentle heat. Add garlic and chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
Add capsicum, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Push all these ingredients to the outside of the pan. Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes and stir well.
Be careful not to let anything burn!
Add paprika and stir well.
Add stock and mark the level of stock in your pan with a strip of foil folded over the edge of your pan.
Keep adding stock and let everything bubble away.
When stock is back to the original level of the foil, add the rice and stir.
Arrange chicken pieces in the pan.
Don’t stir any more!
Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes – the rice should be coming to the surface of the pan now.
Add Mussels and Prawns and push into the Paella.
Cover with foil and simmer for 5 minutes.
After 3 minutes, check and turn over the prawns.
After 5 minutes most of the liquid should have evaporated and the rice should be cooked – taste to test.
Leave to stand for 2-3 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges and a scattering of chopped parsley.
