Serves 4 - 6
4 cups chicken or seafood stock (made from prawn shells and wing tips of chicken, or just store bought)
A pinch of saffron threads
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
5 chicken wings, wing tips removed and wings and drumettes seperated
About 8-10 prawns, shells and heads removed
1 small to medium squid, skin peeled and cut into segments
About 12 - 14 fresh mussels, washed and beards removed
1 chorizo sausage, cut into slices or chunks
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
2 small or 1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into small dice
2 cups medium or short grain rice, like Arborio or Calrose (the Spanish use bomba or calasparra but it's difficult to find) Do not wash/rinse it with water first like you do with Chinese steamed rice!!
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper
Garnish:
1 handful spring onions or coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish
Equipment:
38cm paella pan, or any round pan of the same size that you can put in the oven
1. Preheat oven to 200˚C or 180˚C for fan forced oven.
2. Prepare your chicken wings by removing the wing tips (you can save that for the stock), and seperate the wings off the drumettes. Season them with salt, pepper, olive oil and a bit of smoked paprika if you like.
3. Remove the shells of the prawns (you can save the shells and heads for the stock).
4. Clean the squid by removing the skin and beak, and cut into 1 inch pieces.
5. Wash the mussels, and discard any that are dead. Remove the beards.
6. Cut up the chorizo into chunks or thick slices.
7. In a saucepan, heat your stock until it comes to a simmer, then turn the heat off and add a pinch of saffron. Let it infuse.
8. Chop the onions and garlic, and slice up the capsicum. Deseed and chop the tomatoes.
9. Heat the pan over the biggest hob you've got on your stove. Turn on high heat and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the chicken till it's golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes - they don't have to be cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
10. Lower the heat, and add the chorizo. Fry till the red oil from the sausage's spices melt out, and use that oil to fry your onions, and capsicum, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic last as you don't want to burn it. If the sausage isn't oily enough, just add about 1 tablespoon more of olive oil.
11. Add the rice and the paprika and lightly fry the rice till it's coated with the oil, about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes.
12. Your stock should still be quite warm before you add it in, warm/heat it up it if it's not. Add the stock to the pan, it will bubble pretty hard. Lower the heat to a medium low and stir a little. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
13. Arrange the chicken into a single layer. Do not stir anymore at this point. Cook until the rice is about al dente, about 15 minutes, and just shake the pan a few times throughout.
14. When it's al dente, stick the mussels into the rice and scatter the prawns and squid. Keep simmering till the mussels slightly open.
15. Stick it in the oven for about 5 minutes or till the prawns and squid are cooked.
16. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and let it rest for another 5 minutes.
17. Sprinkle over with spring onions or coriander, and arrange the lemon wedges around the sides.
18. Serve immediately.
* Traditional paella needs to have a nice crust at the bottom and sides. My paella pan is Tefal and you will totally NOT achieve that with a non-stick pan. That pan is probably best used for other things rather than paella, but it was a gift from my mother so I'm not complaining! If you can find a steel pan, that will work so much better.
It may look like a lot of steps, but it's really so easy to make. Best of all, you cook and serve it all in the pan and saves washing up!
I adapted my recipe from Curtis Stone. You can watch his version here.
