Paella

Paella is really a one pot meal, but it is so much more - it's the epitome of Spanish food, it's a luxurious sharing dish, and a great meal for summer dining. 

Traditionally, paella has rabbit, as well a chicken in it, but I stuck with chicken and prawn, which is a relatively common variation. Paella is often different in different regions of Spain - nearer the coast you'll experience seafood paella, and inland, you'll have paella with more game meat in it.

One of the things I love about paella, is that it's so visually exciting. The saffron, paprika and chorizo create the bright yellowy-orange colour and the contrast against the tomatoes and peppers means the dish stands out. 

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

• pinch of saffron strands
• 600ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 170g chorizo, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced (or equivalent of mixed peppers)
• 350g paella rice
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 6 chicken thighs
• 100g peas
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 200g raw king prawns
• 8-10 baby plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 ground black pepper
• Wedge of lemon

Method

• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or paella dish.
• Add the chorizo and fry on a low-medium heat for 5 minutes
• Add the onion, garlic, pepper and chopped tomato and fry until softened
• Add the rice and white wine and bring to a simmer.
• Add the chicken thighs, stock, paprika and saffron. Leave for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add the peas, parsley, coriander, chilli flakes and plum tomatoes, reduce the heat to low and leave for a further 10 minutes. 
• Add the prawns, salt and pepper and stir and leaves for around 5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.
• Serve straight away with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Some of the steps to make paella - clockwise from top left.

The finished paella!