Make a perfect Paella

Ingredients

• 15ml butter
• 30ml olive oil
• 300g chorizo sausage
• 12 chicken pieces
• chicken stock powder for sprinkling
• salt and pepper
• 60ml water
• 3 onions (red preferably) thinly sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tins (410g each) chopped Italian tomatoes
• 3 mixed peppers (red and yellow) sliced
• pinch brown sugar
• 2.5ml cayenne pepper
• 10ml paprika
• pinch of saffron or turmeric
• 500g white rice (risotto, paella or regular)
• 250ml dry white wine
• 500-750ml warm chicken stock kept on one side in a jug
• 250ml pitted black olives
• 1 handful frozen peas
• 500g mixed seafood (mussels, calamari, fish) – if frozen defrost before cooking
• 12-16 defrosted prawns, deveined (750g frozen prawn meat can be used)
• 125ml chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 lemons, cut attractively to serve

 
Method
In a large stovetop-to-oven casserole, frying pan with a lid, or in the skottel, melt butter and olive oil. Add chorizo and fry gently for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Sprinkle chicken pieces with chicken stock powder, salt and pepper and brown all over in batches. Once they are browned, return them all to the dish. Add water, cover with a lid and allow to cook through for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken from dish and set aside.
Add onions and garlic to dish and fry gently until transparent and flavourful. Add tomatoes and peppers and fry gently until wilted and flavourful. Season with sugar, cayenne, paprika and saffron. Add rice and mix in with a wooden spoon, making sure all the rice grains are well covered with the tomato onion mixture. Turn up the heat and add the wine. Allow wine to cook off – about 5-10 minutes. Add chicken stock, chicken pieces and chorizo, mix well, turn down heat and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes until rice is just cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

 
Don’t overcook as the paella continues cooking and rice will become mushy. If not using skottel, preheat oven to 180°C. Once the rice is cooked and plumped up, scatter over the olives, peas and seafood. Replace lid and cook through (in the oven or on the skottel) for another 5-10 minutes. The prawns should just turn pink and the peas should be defrosted. The rice should be plumped up and cooked through. Turn down the heat, fork the chopped parsley through the rice and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Recipe: For Friends & Family by Nicky Stubbs.