Recipe: Easy Seafood Paella

I developed this from a traditional Spanish Paella recipe, but it still packs a punch in the flavour department. Chicken thigh meat, chorizo and rice are slowly cooked in chicken stock, onions, garlic, and most importantly saffron and smoked paprika. This is simmered gently until the rice is cooked and the chicken tender. Finally, some peas are thrown in for freshness and the whole lot is topped with seafood and steamed until the seafood is cooked and the seafood juices have drizzled down onto the savoury rice. Garnish with slices of lemon and enjoy with crusty bread. Olé!!

Top tip: If you have leftover paella then use it to stuff a red pepper. Sprinkle Manchego Cheese over the top and bake in a medium oven until the cheese browns and the pepper is soft.

Ingredients

1 tbspn of Olive Oil
2-3 Boned chicken thighs with skin and excess fat removed
2 Inch piece of Chorizo Sausage sliced quite thickly
1 Medium Onion chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
500ml of Hot Chicken stock infused with a good pinch of Saffron
125g of Paella Rice (Arborio rice is good too)
1 tspn of Smoked Paprika
A handful of frozen peas
6 Raw Prawns in their shells
12 Mussels or clams, cleaned and de-bearded (optional)

Method

Heat the olive oil gently in a large shallow frying pan until hot. Add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides. Remove the thighs and allow to cool. Add the chorizo to the pan and sauté until the sausage is just cooked but not too crispy – about 3 minutes. Remove the chorizo from the pan and keep with the chicken.

Turn the heat down to low and add the onion to the pan and sauté gently until soft but not browned – about 5-8 minutes. While the onion is softening, cut up the chicken thighs into small pieces and heat up, or make the stock with a stock cube. Add the saffron to the stock when hot and allow to infuse. When the onions have softened, add the garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and mix well, coating the rice in the lovely rich oil. Add the smoked paprika and mix in thoroughly. Add the chicken and chorizo back into the pan and then add the chicken stock. Increase the heat to bring the chicken stock up to a boil and then turn the heat back down to low again. Move the chicken and chorizo around the pan to distribute it evenly. Cover the pan with a lid or tinfoil and cook gently for around 10 minutes until the rice is soft and the stock has been absorbed. Throw on the peas.

Lay the prawns on the top of the Paella and recover with the lid or foil. Leave to steam gently for around 5 minutes or until the prawns have become mostly pink. Place the mussels or clams (if used) on the paella and again, replace the lid or foil and allow to steam for a further 5 minutes until the mussels or clams have fully opened. If not using mussels or clams, simply keep the foil on the pan for an extra 2-3 minutes until the prawns have fully cooked through.

Serve in a shallow wide bowl with slices of lemon and some good crusty bread on the side and maybe a little salad dressed with olive oil.