Paella. Like in tortilla, the ‘l's are pronounced with a ‘ya' sound. So ‘pie-yay-ya'.
Originating in Spain, there are three types of paella. This version is an adaptation of a mixed paella. I would have loved to have thrown some prawns into this but alas it was the week of the phone bill! And the broken watch and the dress alteration and . . . you get the idea.
Traditionally, paella is made in a large shallow pan over an open fire. It is a social dish often made at large gatherings. Old family recipes have clever tricks regarding the number of "crosses'' made out of rice across the pan and the number of servings.
Why I have not made paella before I do not know! It is brilliant. A small amount of meat can be spread a mighty long way, it is packed full of flavour and really filling.
It is essentially a Spanish risotto. And we all know how I feel about risotto . . .
Due to a lack of regular chicken stock, I used gluten-free chicken stock. So, as you can see, this meal can easily be made gluten free.
This dish requires a relatively large deep frying pan. I started off using our usual frying pan but found halfway through that it could only take half of the water! I rummaged through the pot cupboard until I found the old forgotten electric frying pan. It worked a treat.
Chicken and chorizo paella
Serves 6
400g-500g chicken breast or tenderloin, cubed
splash of cooking oil
1 brown onion, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 spring onions, sliced (optional - mine were just going a bit limp in the fridge)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
5 cups chicken stock
2 cups medium-grain rice
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
zest and juice of 1 lemon
100g feta, crumbled
fresh coriander and parsley to serve
lemon quarters to serve
Brown the chicken in the oil on a medium heat until almost cooked through. Add the brown onion, red onion, chorizo sausage, garlic, smoked paprika, chilli and oregano and sauté until translucent.
Pour over the rice and stir to toast for a minute. Pour over the tomatoes, chicken stock, lemon juice and zest.
Bring to a simmer before reducing the temperature to low, popping on the lid and leaving to cook for 15 minutes.
Lift the lid and stir occasionally to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom. If you find that all the liquid has been absorbed but the rice is not quite al dente, add up to another cup of cold water. That should do the trick.
Once all the water is absorbed and the rice al dente, remove from the heat.
Stir though a handful of chopped parsley and coriander. Serve into bowls, top with crumbled feta (the feta makes all the difference!), sprinkle over some more coriander and squeeze over the lemon.
Enjoy!
