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Chicken and Chorizo Paella

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Chicken and chorizo paella is an easy to prepare  recipe that you will surely love. Cooking the rice is a bit tricky so I make sure that there is enough liquid, feel free to add more if needed.

I like the semi-burnt rice at the bottom of the pan, so I try to use non-stick pans so that the rice can still be eaten.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 pinch saffron threads

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 chorizo sausages, thinly sliced

600g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm cubes

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 red capsicum, seeded and sliced thinly

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 cup Arborio or Calrose rice

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

Chopped spring onions for serving

Lemon wedges for serving

 

Place the wine, saffron and chicken stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove it from the heat just before it boils. Set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or paella pan over medium heat. Fry the chorizo for 2-4 minutes until they are golden brown. Turn them at least once. Transfer the cooked chorizo to a plate.

In the same pan, fry the chicken in batches for another 2-4 minutes per side until they are lightly browned. Place the cooked chicken on a plate and set them aside. Keep warm.

After, sauté the garlic, onions and capsicum in the pan for 5 minutes or until the onions and capsicums are soft. Add the paprika and tomatoes. Cook them for 2-3 minutes until soft and the mixture becomes fragrant.

Place the fried chorizo and chicken in the pan. Add the rice and pour in the chicken stock and wine mixture. Set the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook the rice for another 12-15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Add more stock if needed.

Shortly before it is cooked, top the rice with peas and cover the paella. Cook it for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with spring onions. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  mariko

Paella Valenciana

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Paella

Before I began writing this recipe, I decided to look for other Paella recipes to check on different variations. The first link I opened was what they call the “authentic” way of cooking paella. I was surprised that rabbit’s meat was one of the ingredients.  Another thing I learned was the secret to good paella is the type of rice used. Chefs prefer Bomba rice, although the Arborio variety is a good alternative as well. This is because this type of rice absorbs a lot of liquid without getting soggy.

I personally prefer seafood or squid ink paella. Here’s a recipe I hope you will enjoy preparing.

Vamos a comer!

Ingredients for the rice:

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 big head garlic, crushed

4 cups bomba rice

1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Ingredients for the broth:

6 cups water

1 onion, quartered

1 tablespoon rock salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 kilo medium sized crabs

1/4 kilo prawns or shrimps, unpeeled

1/4 kilo squids, remove ink sacs

1/2 kilo mussels or clams

Ingredients for the garnish:

2 green and red bell peppers, pitted and sliced lengthwise

4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 cup white onion, chopped

1/4 cup crushed garlic

250 grams chorizo de bilbao, sliced

1 kilo chicken parts

2/3 cup tomato  paste

1/2 cup crab fat

Prepare the rice by heating the oil. Add garlic and cook until light brown. Mix in the rice and make sure that it is coated in oil. Set aside.

Next, boil water and season with salt and pepper.  Add crabs until cooked or when the shells have changed colour. Remove the crab and set aside the broth.  Once the crab is cool, remove the upper shell, crack the claws and cut the bodies into four parts.

In the same broth, half cook the shrimp and set aside. Do the same for the squid and mussels/clams. Cook until shells open. Drain and set the broth aside.

Heat paella pan; pour olive oil and sauté the garlic. When the garlic starts dancing, add the onions and bell peppers. Cook until soft. Add the chorizo and stir for three minutes. Mix the chicken parts, and cook until light brown. Add tomato paste and crab fat. Stir in rice and then pour the broth. Mix in turmeric and saffron. Wait for it to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked (soft and the water has been absorbed), top with prawns, crabs, mussels and bell peppers

Bake at 450°F or 225°C for 10 minutes.

Before serving, top with lemon wedges and hard-boiled egg. Serves 12-15.

*If an oven is unavailable, put fire to high after 20 minutes with the crabs, etc. on top. Cover and cook for five minutes more.

Photo Courtesy of: Kate. Check out more pictures of lovely Paella dishes.

Classic Paella

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This traditional Spanish dish is such a favourite, that there are many variations on it, but this recipe is for the original version.

Serve it outdoors, with a rich Red wine, bread and Garlic Mayonnaise.

1kg Chicken Thighs

4tsp smoked Paprika

3tbsp Olive Oil

225g Chorizo, Diced

1 Large Onion, Chopped

4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

3 Pinches of Saffron

450g Vine-Ripened Tomatoes

400g Spanish Paella Rice

1.2litres Chicken Stock, Hot

100g Broad Beans

155g Green Beans, halved

20 live Mussels, cleaned

2550g Raw King Prawns

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 190 C/ Gas Mark 5.

2.       Cut any excess fat or skin from the Chicken Thighs, and dust with the Paprika. Lay in a roasting tin, and cook skin side up for thirty minutes – until cooked and the skin is brown.

3.       Heat 1tbsp Olive Oil in a large pan or Wok, and cook the Chorizo until golden. Remove this from the pan, and add the rest of the oil.

4.       Cook the Onion, Garlic, Tomatoes and Saffron for five minutes, stirring well throughout.

5.       Add the Chicken and it’s juices, the Chorizo and stir in the Rice, plus three quarters of the Chicken Stock, and cook until bubbling away.

6.       Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for fifteen minutes, before adding the beans and cooking for a further five minutes.

7.       Add the Sea Food to the pan, along with the remaining stock. Cook for between ten and twelve minutes, until the rice is tender, the mussels have opened and the prawns are a rich Pink colour.

Serve with Bread and the Garlic Mayonnaise.

Photo Courtesy of Avlxyz