Jenny Flynn, the head chef at Faithlegg House Hotel, joined Maria McCann on The Saturday Café for Food at Faithlegg. For the August edition, Jenny had a fantastic recipe for Chicken and Chorizo Paella.
Chicken and Chorizo Paella
This time of year, it is lovely to do a paella, or as I call it, a one-pot wonder!
This recipe is adapted for an indoor cooking or le Creuset style dish, so no paella pan is needed.
The trick for the perfect paella base is to the rice v liquid ratio correct and not to over-stir!
This recipe is for 4
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 1red pepper chopped
- 1tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch of saffron (great for colour but you could use turmeric as an alternative
- 1tin chopped tomato
- 50g peas
- 220g arborio rice
- 100ml white wine
- 700ml stock (veg or chicken)
- Salt and pepper
- 1spicy chorizo
Options for the paella:
You can use a mixture of meats and seafood. I like using shellfish and chicken, with chorizo in the base of this recipe
To make the base
Method:
- Heat the olive oil over a medium heat, add onions, peppers, paprika, with the sliced chorizo,
- Cook for 3-4 mins
- Add the tomato and cook until the moisture mostly evaporates.
- This stage is called toasting the rice, stir in the rice and coat it with base. Cook for 1-2minutes.
- Add wine and saffron or turmeric.
- Heat the stock and pour it over the rice. Give a stir and reduce the heat to a simmer, and no more stirring from now on!
- Arrange the chicken over the top of the rice, pushing into the rice, and allow to cook for 15-20minutes
- To finish the paella, add the peas, push the prawns and mussels (if using) around the rice and cover for a further 10 minutes, it is just to absorb all the liquid and ensure the chicken and seafood are cooked.
Remove the lid and sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve to the table with a slice of lemon.
Enjoy
Jenny
Jenny’s pro tip – don’t stir while simmering – this is key to a proper paella!
This recipe is lovely with garlic crème fraiche and lemon.
