Tasty Tuesdays - Chicken & Chorizo Paella (Save with Jamie)

How has it been almost 3 full months and I haven’t shared a single Jamie Oliver recipe with you yet? Well, for this fortnight, I’m finally changing that with a gorgeous recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a while: paella. Specifically chicken and chorizo, taken from his 'Save with Jamie' cookbook, although, as with most of Jamie’s recipes, there is plenty of room for creative licence – which is probably why I love cooking with him so much.

You’ll want to start by prepping your ingredients – they do it on TV before the cameras start rolling so it makes sense for you to do the same, and it means everything is just as you need it when you need it. (You can see from my photo that I love using a multitude of mismatched bowls for each ingredient!) Once everything is chopped and weighed, you can begin cooking. First to go in is the garlic (I use about ¼ - ½ tsp of garlic puree as fresh garlic isn’t very common in my kitchen), the roughly chopped carrot, onion, parsley stalks, chorizo and chicken thighs, and some paprika (as I can’t seem to find paprika which is both sweet and smoked, I use a ½ tsp of each). Then the chopped pepper (Jamie suggests red, but yellow or orange will work just fine), followed by tomato puree and a stock cube. At this point in the proceedings, I chose to add my own twist by also throwing in a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a whole chopped fresh tomato. Alternatively, you could use sun-dried peppers or marinaded artichoke (both of which are equally Mediterranean and usually easy to find in your local supermarket) or, as Jamie suggests, some shellfish (mussels, clams) or fresh fish – something I will definitely have to try next time!

Up next is the rice. Paella rice is a shorter grain with a high absorption rate which means, even though the packet suggested a cooking time of 34 minutes, the 15 Jamie suggests really is all you need. So don’t do what I did and add in red or brown rice because it won’t cook properly unless you parboil it for 15 minutes beforehand. (I would, however, like to point out that this addition, without the parboiling, was not a failure, but it did leave a few overly al dente grains). You also need to remember to stir the paella regularly during this to prevent it sticking or burning. Finally come the prawns and peas, a little more cooking, and you’re ready to serve. A sprinkle of chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon, and, as I rather creatively chose to add, a grating of Red Leicester cheese – the nuttiness works well with the rice – and you can dig into one of the best paellas you will ever make.

CHICKEN & CHORIZO PAELLA

• 
  2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• ½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley (15g)
• 70g chorizo
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
• 1 red pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 300g paella rice
• 100g frozen peas
• 200g frozen peeled cooked prawns
• 1 lemon

 

Peel and finely slice the garlic, peel and roughly chop the onion and carrot. Finely chop the parsley stalks, then roughly chop the chorizo and chicken thighs. Put a lug of oil into a large lidded shallow casserole or paella pan on a medium heat, add the garlic, onion, carrot, parsley stalks, chorizo, chicken and paprika, and fry for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Deseed and chop the pepper, then add to the pan for a further 5 minutes.

Stir through the tomato puree and crumble in the stock cube, then add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes so it starts to suck up all that lovely flavour. Pour in 750ml of boiling water and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Pop the lid on and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15minutes, stirring regularly from the outside in and from the inside out, and adding a splash of water if needed. Stir in the peas and prawns, replace the lid, and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until hot through. Season to perfection, then chop the parsley leaves, scatter them over the paella, and serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.