This is our take on a traditional Spanish paella. It’s filled with chunks of chicken breast and wedges of chorizo, so it’s a bit of a meat feast, similar to paella Valencian, which is the inspiration for the dish. I’ve taken out the traditional saffron, because it’s overpriced and sometimes tough to get hold of, but feel free to add a level teaspoon if you want to stick to convention. However, with the addition of turmeric, coriander and a double shot of scotch whiskey this paella recipe doesn’t lack on taste; especially with a squeeze of lemon to serve.
Paella with chicken and chorizo ingredients (serves 4):
• 1 cup Spanish paella rice
• 1 chicken breast chopped into large chunks
• 1 chorizo chopped into 5mm slices
• 1 cup Chicken stock
• A double shot of Scotch whiskey
• Green beans
• 7 sprigs of asparagus chopped (tough stems removed)
• 1 orange pepper
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic sliced thinly
• Butter beans (including the water they’re contained in)
• 3 tbls fresh chopped coriander
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 1 level tsp paprika
• 1/2 level tsp turmeric
• 1/2 level tsp chilli powder
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 lemon
Paella with chicken & chorizo recipe guide:
1. Season a large pan (saucepan, deep frying pan or traditional paella dish) with salt and pepper, add a table spoon of olive oil and begin to fry the chicken and chorizo over a medium-high heat.
2.Once the chicken has turned a white to gold colour on the outside it’s time to add the onion. Once this has softened, add the garlic and orange pepper and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously.
3.Throw in the green beans, asparagus and coriander and cook for another couple of minutes before adding the paella rice, paprika, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir thoroughly for a minute or so to make sure the rice is coated in spices and pour in the chicken stock and whiskey.
4.Once the juices are bubbling pour in the tomatoes and reduce the heat to simmer. The rice will take a good amount of cooking, in the region of 20-25 minutes. If you’re not using a big paella dish then you might have to split the contents into two separate pans as the rice expands.
5.You’ll also need to add more water every now and again to make sure the rice has got enough to absurd. If you do this in little quarter cup bursts then you can’t go far wrong. The rice will be cooked once it is soft and tasty.
6.The final touch is to add half a lemon to each plate to squeeze on to taste.
