Paella is an on going project for us… So last night we attempted our fourth Paella. I can confirm it was the best yet… We went to Jamie Oliver’s site for some inspiration. His recipe didn’t really feel authentically Spanish, but did have some really nice ideas, like using Chorizo, which we employed.
Good luck if you have a go. We’d love to hear how you get on…
Ingredients (for 2 people):
- 250g paella rice
- 500ml of chicken stock
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1/2 a finely chopped onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- a handful of chorizo
- a pinch of saffron
- 4 king prawns
- a handful of squid rings
- a small amount of red pepper
- frozen peas
- flat green beans
- pepper
- a lemon
- a glug of olive oil (that’s for you Maggie!)
Method:
Put some salt and pepper on the chicken thighs and fry in some olive oil with the chorizo. Then when they have browned, remove them and place in a dish. Fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes until they have softened. Now place the chicken and the chorizo back into the pan with the chopped flat beans and stir in the rice. Add all of the hot chicken stock (which should also contain the saffron), make sure the rice is evenly dispersed and put a lid on. Do not stir. Oh and it should be on a medium high heat. After about 20 minutes, remove the lid, and place the king prawns, the squid, the red pepper and the peas on top of the rice. I added a little more stock (about 100 ml), again, don’t stir… put the lid back on and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Serve hot with a lemon wedge, which really lifts the flavours of the fish. Traditional Paella is from Valencia and cooked with Chicken, rabbit and the flat green beans that are included here. I actually liked the addition of chorizo but that is optional. By not stirring the rice and using a pan with a large diameter you should get a nice crust forming on the bottom.
The Pear Tree 