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Chicken and chorizo paella

Disclaimer: this is not an authentic paella. I am fully aware that paellas do not traditionally include chorizo. After the uproar surrounding Jamie Oliver’s pig featuring paella I considered changing the name of this to chicken and chorizo rice pot, but then I thought why? I’m not sure any of my 28 twitter followers will care what I call it, unlike some of Jamie’s 2m and hey us Brits are pretty good at taking something from abroad and changing it into something different. Come on, we all know that our favourite Indian curry, the tikka masala, isn’t exactly an authentic Indian recipe.

So here’s my paella. And guess what?! It’s pretty darn tasty! Plus you should be able to get everything from the mini supermarket on your way home. So there’s no excuse not to make it tonight!

Normally I’m jolly good at using all the pans in the kitchen so one pot recipes like this are a relief for whoever offers to do the washing up. I’ve even ordered the chopping so that the board and knife only need to be washed up once too- I’m feeling kind today.

The recipe calls for chicken breasts but thighs or left over roast chicken would work equally well. If you are using left overs skip the frying step but add the meat at the same time as I say below so that the flavours get into the meat.

To add insult to injury on the authenticity front I use basmatic rice in mine. Why? Well I’m much more likely to have it in the cupboard, it’s cheaper and I’m definitely more likely to use up the rest of the packet than if I bought paella rice specially. Having said that please feel free use paella rice if you can get hold of it, let’s not upset the spaniards unnecessarily!

This takes about 30mins from start to finish, a little less if your chicken is already cooked. The last 20 mins only need a stir every now and then so you can get on with something else whilst you wait.

Recipe

Serves 2

Adapted from BBC Good Food

1 onion
1 garlic clove
Small bunch of parsley (half a supermarket pack)
60g cooking chorizo
1 chicken breast (or 2/3 thighs)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika (smoked if you have it)
150g rice
450ml chicken stock
150g peas
1/2 lemon, zest and juice

  • Dry prep: finely slice the onion, finely chop/ grate the garlic and chop the parsley (stalk finely and shred the leaves). Pop these into separate bowls.
  • Dirty prep: slice the chorizo into 1cm slices and dice the chicken
  • Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan over a medium/ high heat and add the chicken, cook for a couple of mins until the all sides are browned but the inside still pink, tip into a bowl. Heat a little more oil in the pan and turn down to medium/ low. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and fry for 10mins until softened.
  • Add the chorizo and garlic and cook until the oils are being released, about 3mins
  • Turn up the heat a little to medium and tip in the spices and fry for 30secs stirring often. Add the rice and stir to coat in the chorizo oil, cooking for a minute before adding the stock and chicken to the pan.
  • Bring this to the boil before turning down and simmering for 10 mins. Add the peas and cook for a couple more mins until the rice and peas are both fully cooked.
  • Stir in the lemon zest, juice and most of the parsley. Taste and season.
  • Serve with lemon wedges and extra parsley.

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