Paella is a reasonably priced attractive dish that goes a long way, it has fantastic flavours and fragrances that makes for an impressive meal.
Paella itself originates from Spain, Valencia in particular, however different regions of Spain have different variations of the dish.
This Paella recipe is a mixture of different recipes that I have come across. As a result, I have combined these recipes to create a delicious dish that is easy to throw together and enjoy amongst friends and family.
Ingredients
4 Chicken breasts or 6 chicken thighs
500g Paella rice
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150g Chorizo
Aprox 500g seafood mix (fresh or frozen)
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Jumbo king prawns (fresh or frozen)
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4 Large garlic cloves
1 Red onion
2 Decent pinches of Saffron
1 Tsp thyme
2 Tsp smoked paprika (normal or hot)
2.25 Litres of chicken stock
250ml Dry white wine
Frozen peas
1 Lemon
Olive oil
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How to throw it together
1. - Heat your Paella pan or large frying pan and put in a large lug of olive oil allowing it to heat.
2. - Once heated, add the chicken and chorizo, fry until they start to brown, at this point the oil should start taking an orange colour this will be when to add the onion and fry until soft. Be careful here not to burn the chorizo.
3. Throw in the garlic, paprika and thyme and stir for a minute or so.
4. As soon as the garlic is soft create a space in the middle of the pan and add the paella rice, stir this until it is totally mixed in the the other items in the pan.
5. The rice will have now taken the colour from the oil so add the wine, saffron and half the chicken stock.
6. Turn the heat down and simmer until the rice starts to soften and absorbs the majority of the stock, once this has taken place add the remainder of the stock and leave to simmer.
7. Once the liquid has reduced taste the rice, it should now be soft, (If not add another 500ml of chicken stock). Add the seafood and prawns along with the juice squeezed from half of the lemon, chuck in a couple of handfuls of peas and leave simmering for another 5 minutes.
8. We are now ready to serve, leave in the pan and add the wedges of lemon around the surface of the paella. Place the pan in the middle of the table with a serving spoon and let people go to town.
Prep
Chicken - If you are using breast, slice into strips or chunks depending on your preference (strips will cook more quickly), If you are using thighs remove the bone and then slice into strips you can leave the skin on or remove it here.. its your choice.
Chorizo - Slice this or dice this depending on what you find easier, I like to slice as I prefer bigger pieces as dicing can cause the chorizo to get lost in the dish (the flavour will still be there of course).
Onion and Garlic - Dice the Onion and finely chop the garlic