Paella

Please please please don’t shout at me for calling this dish Paella. 

I do not proclaim to for this to be of Spanish origin (though at least some of the ingredients are) and I am aware it is almost certainly not a traditional recipe. Having said that, Paella is the dish that has inspired this recipe, I use ‘paella’ rice and (if I had the resources to do so) would cook this in a paella pan. This recipe is very flexible and you can use almost anything you have in the fridge or cupboard to help it along (that’s what they’d do in Spain right?!) Although in this recipe I have used a red onion white is absolutely fine (and more traditional). In the past I have used asparagus instead of beans, and peas are the more traditional option, rabbit is often used instead of chicken (though I couldn’t do that to Lola…), red pepper is also normally used but I had a yellow one available…etc etc etc…

There may be techniques that you’ll need to know for this. Please refer to hints and tips page.

I fed 5 hungry people but had a silly amount of mussels, to feed 6-8 I’d add another pack of prawns and 50-150g more rice.

Ingredients

400g ‘paella’ rice

350g chicken thighs/drumsticks (or a jointed chicken, with skin and bones)

180g raw king prawns (mine were peeled but if you can get with shells on all the better)

1kg live mussels

1-2 litres of stock (I’m sorry but this does vary and is really up to judgement)

Chorizo ring (though sausages would work as well, just no slices)

70g pancetta

100g tomatoes

1 pepper

1 onion

75g fine beans

1-2 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

2 pinches saffron

Flat leafed parsley

Salt and pepper

Everything needs to be ready to go once you start cooking so dice the pepper, garlic and onion. Chop the tomatoes, I used cherry tomatoes and chopped them in a mixture of halves and quarters. Wash the mussels in a clean sink of cold water, de-beard and discard any that are cracked or do not close when tapped sharply. Slice the chorizo quite thickly on the diagonal, about 1-2cm wide. Chop the tops and tails off your beans and cut them into thirds or quarters.  

Get the chicken thighs and cut them in half, bone and all. I find the best way to do this is to bring the knife down very hard on the middle of the bone, saw a bit and then crack it. That is unless you have a very sharp and heavy knife or meat cleaver. Dust the chicken with half a teaspoon of paprika and flour and mix around until all the chicken is coated.

Heat a glug of olive oil in the pan over medium hot heat (the Spanish take their olive oil seriously and it is a key ingredient in this dish so use the best you can afford) and when hot put the chicken in. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Throw (ok, maybe not!) the pancetta into the pan and fry until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and place onto kitchen roll to soak up excess fat.

Boil the kettle and prepare a litre-1.5 litres of stock infusing it with half the saffron (that’s just posh speak for putting it in hot water, or stock in this case).

Chorizo goes into the pan next and fry for a few minutes until starting to brown on the edges, then turn the heat down to medium (or a bit lower until the pan cools slightly) and put the onions in the pan. Cook until the onions are turning translucent but not colouring and then add peppers, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper and cook before adding the chicken and tomatoes.

 Add some of the stock and bring to a low boil/simmering point (i.e. bring to the boil and then turn heat down so bubbles calm but don’t disappear). Cook for 5-10 minutes. Take the chicken out (again!) with a slotted spoon and then add the rice and half of the stock left. Bring it all to a boil and turn it down to simmering point and cook for ten minutes uncovered and only disturbing occasionally to check the rice isn’t burning. Add more stock if necessary in this time.

After ten minutes add more stock if drying up, put the chicken back in and put the lid on for 10 more minutes.

This is now a time for a judgement call. If you think your rice is nearly done (it has barely any more bite left in it) then add the prawns and the mussels, a bit more stock, turn the heat up and cook with the lid on for 4-6 minutes (until the prawns have turned pink and the mussels have opened). Shake it around during this time, it seems to encourage the mussels to open and also stops the rice from sticking. If the rice has quite a bit of bite left, add more stock if drying out and cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on, taste again and repeat if necessary, then add the shellfish.  

Traditionally served in its cooking dish I recommend putting the pan on the table, sprinkling over a bit of chopped parsley and the pancetta and letting everyone dig in!