Spanish Paella

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Spanish Paella

Paella! This famous saffron infused rice dish is a traditional Spanish recipe that comes fully loaded with seafood or anything your heart desires! You don’t need a paella pan to cook paella, any skillet or even a large pot will do, and it’s surprisingly straightforward to make.

Ingredients :

  • 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 7 oz / 200g chorizo , sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5" thick
  • 200g / 6 oz squid , cut into 7mm / 1/4" thick rings
  • 1 onion , diced
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 red capsicum / bell pepper , diced
  • 1 1/2 cups paella rice
  • 2 juicy ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced OR 3/4 cup canned crushed tomato
  • 300g / 10 oz chicken thigh fillets , cut into 1.5" / 3.5cm pieces
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth/stock or homemade seafood broth
  • 1 tsp saffron threads
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 12- 16 medium / large prawns , whole
  • 12 large mussels , cleaned & check freshness

Directions :

  1. Chorizo - Heat 1 tbsp oil in a 30cm / 10" paella pan or large skillet over high heat (Note 9). Add chorizo and cook until browned on each side (~ 3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. Squid - Add squid and cook for 45 seconds on each side, then remove and set aside.
  3. Garlic, onion, capsicum - Add remaining oil (if needed). Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes. Add capsicum, cook for 1 minute.
  4. Chicken - Add chicken. Cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned but still raw inside.
  5. Add Rice - Add rice and mix until the grains are coated in oil.
  6. Cooking broth - Add in most of the chorizo (reserve 1/4 for garnish), chicken stock, fresh or crushed tomato and saffron. Stir.
  7. Simmer 1 - Bring it to a simmer then adjust heat so it's simmering fairly gently (not super rapidly, will burn rice). Simmer for 10 minutes - no stirring! At this stage, a bit of rice should be poking through to the surface but there should still be plenty of liquid.
  8. Add peas, prawns and mussels - Scatter over peas, squidge the prawns and mussels into the rice (partial submerge is fine).
  9. Simmer 2 - Cook for 8 minutes (turn prawns halfway if you think it's necessary) or until prawns are opaque, mussels are open, and most of the liquid has been absorbed but still a bit liquidy. Discard any mussels that do not open. Remove from stove.
  10. Check rice - Do a taste test to see if the rice is cooked - it should be firm but cooked. If it is too firm for your taste, no stress, just add a splash of hot water (not too much!) and keep cooking.
  11. Rest - Scatter over squid and reserved chorizo (residual heat will warm through), cover with lid then rest for 5 minutes (rice will absorb remainig liquid). Paella rice should now be tender but "juicy", not stodgy and thick (if it is, add splash of water to loosen it).
  12. Garnish - scatter with parsley and wedges of lemon. Take to table as is, then mix up rice with seafood before serving!