Classic paella recipe
This classic Spanish rice dish is a great meal to cook for friends. The mix of seafood is up to you but prawns, mussels and squid give great colour and texture. Make sure you use the largest pan you can – the rice swells up a lot as it cooks.
Ingredients
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 100 g chorizo, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp mild olive oil
- 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (around 500g/18oz), cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 red bell peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky slices
- 350 g paella rice
- 1 tsp regular or smoked paprika
- 1 pinch saffron strands (around half a teaspoon)
- 100 ml white wine
- 1 l chicken or fish stock
- 6 small, cleaned squid (optional)
- 300 g mussels
- 12 large, shell-on raw prawns, with heads on or off
- 1 handful frozen petit pois
- 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemon
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Details
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Recipe Type: Rice
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 50 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Put a large skillet, frying pan or flameproof casserole over medium heat, then add the oil. After 30 seconds, add the chorizo.
- Fry for 5 minutes until golden all over and the chorizo has released its red oil. Lift out of the pan and set aside.
- Add the chicken to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and fry for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden.
- Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the chicken, stir, then cook gently for 10 minutes, until the onions and bell peppers are softened.
- Add the rice and turn up the heat. Stir well to coat in the oil then add the paprika, saffron, wine and stock and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer the rice for 20 minutes, or until it is nearly soft. Stir the pan several times as it cooks.
- While the rice is simmering, slice the squid tubes into thick rings, if using. Leave the tentacles whole. Scrub the mussels and pull any stringy threads away from them (these are known as beards). Tap any open mussels sharply on the work surface. Any that don’t close after a few seconds must be discarded.
- Add the prawns to the pan, tucking them into what sauce is left around the rice. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the squid, mussels, peas and chorizo over the top.
- Cover and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the mussels have opened and the squid has turned from translucent to white. The rice will have absorbed the broth. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.
- Coarsely chop the parsley leaves then sprinkle over the paella. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over.
This recipe is from Simple and Classic: 123 step-by-step recipes by Jane Hornby. Published by Phaidon.
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