2011 Cooking Club Week 10: Paella

Yipee my week has come around! I have decided to give the recipe for one of my favourite dishes, Paella. I know there are loads of varying recipes out there for this, but this one is pretty straightforward and tastes delish! It is ideal for having friends over as there is plenty to go around, and goes down nicely with beers! It is nice at any time of year & is really tasty as leftovers the next day! This recipe makes enough to feed 5-6 people, and makes a substantial main course or could be given in smaller portions as an alternative starter.

You need a large frying pan (or if you have a paella pan all the better) with a wide bottom and decent sides. All the ingredients go in together so handy for washing up.

Ingredients:

• Packet of prawns (I used cooked but feel free to use raw if you have them. Simply cook them off in the 1.2 ltr of water at the start, then keep the water for the Paella)
• 500g Chicken Thighs - Chopped (The best ones to get are skinless & boneless thighs. Unfortunately I couldn’t get these this evening so used the ones with skin and bones and removed them, but it can be a bit messy! You can use chicken breast if you prefer, I just find that the thighs work much better in this recipe and don't get dried out)
• 150g Chorizo – Chopped

• 1 Large Red Onion - Chopped
• 3 Garlic Cloves (Use more or less as you like) - Minced
• 1 Red & 1 Green Pepper – Sliced
• 12-15 Cherry Tomatoes – Halved

• ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Use more if you like a little more spice)
• ½ Teaspoon Paprika
• ¼ Teaspoon Saffron (About 30-40ish strands of Saffron - Usually the Tesco Saffron lasts about 4/5 batches of Paella!)
• ½ Teaspoon Parsley (I used dried)
• ¼ Teaspoon Tarragon (Feel free to use fresh herbs if you have them – All mine have died so going to have to restock!)

• 350g Paella Rice (or any medium grain rice such as Risotto etc. Tesco do a paella rice & can be found in their specialist cookery section)

• S & P
• Olive Oil
• 1.2 ltr hot Water

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14



*Note: You can add Pork to this, simply use less chicken and chorizo and include some chopped pork. I find that chicken, prawn & chorizo is plenty but you can mix and match to your own tastes. Feel free to leave out the prawns if you are not a fan.


** In the photo above the Cayenne Pepper is missing - Just spotted that!

Method

• First thing is to prep all the ingredients – Chop up all the meat and slice up the onion, pepper, tomatoes, mince the garlic

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14


By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Put the Saffron in a bowl/cup and add a little hot water & allow to infuse for a couple of minutes.

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Season the chicken (and pork if using) and fry along with the Chorizo in a little olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes – Stirring frequently.

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Add the red onion & cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until soft.

• Then add the garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika and saffron (inc. the soaking liquid) & cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Add the pepper slices & tomatoes halves& cook, stirring for a further 2 minutes

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Next, add the rice and herbs and stir constantly for 1 minute, until all the rice is covered and glossy

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Pour 1.1ltr hot water (or the water used to cook the raw prawns) into the pan and bring to the boil

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• Reduce the heat and allow to simmer, for 10 minutes, uncovered. Do not stir during cooking; simply shake the pan a couple of times.
• At this stage it is good to season to your own taste, shake the pan, and allow to cook for a further 10 minutes. You will know that the rice is absorbing the liquid as it looks plump and almost cooked. At this stage you may need to add the remaining 100mls of hot water into the pan, you will see if the paella is too dry. Shake the pan to distribute the water

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14

• After 20 minutes of cooking it should look like the picture, all of the water should have been adsorbed but not be overly dry, and certainly should not be burning. At this stage add the prawns shake the pan. Continue to cook for a further 2 minutes to allow the prawns to heat up.
• All the liquid should be fully adsorbed so the pan can be taken off the heat & cover with foil or a clean tea towel and allow to stand for a couple of minutes.

By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14



Now just serve with some crusty bread or some fresh salad, add a nice cool beer, and enjoy!



By mimojo1 at 2011-03-14