Comfort Food for a Cold, Wet & Windy Night

This is my adapted recipe for Paella – Enjoy!

Serves 4-6  – Try it with a dry Rose wine
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Season the chicken pieces and dust with flour. Heat a little olive oil in a large deep pan and fry the chicken until goldenbrown on both sides. Place the pieces on a baking tray and into the oven for 30 minutes.

Put the pan back on the heat (don’t clean – leave in the juices). Add a splash of oil oil then the sliced chorizo and pancetta or bacon and fry until browned and crispy. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Meanwhile infuse half the hot chicken stock with the saffron. Add the smoked paprika, rice making sure that the rice grains are coated with the oils , then add the infused stock and leave to cook on a medium heat, stirring from time to time. If it starts to look to dry add some more of the remaining infused chicken stock as required

After 20 minutes the rice should be nearly cooked. At this point, (if it needs it) pour in any of the stock along with the peas, prawns. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 10 minutes more.

Finally, add the cooked chicken (Breast sliced or thigh quartered) and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and a wedge of lemon.

Serve with crusty white bread and oils.

ingredients

• 6 boneless chicken breasts or 8 boneless thighs, skin on.
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• plain flour, for dusting
• olive oil
• 100g chorizo, sliced
• 6 slices pancetta or thinly sliced streaky bacon
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 litres hot chicken stock
• 2 large pinches of saffron
• 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
• 500g paella rice
• small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stalks chopped
• 2 handfuls frozen peas
• 10 king prawns

If you like you can also add mussels and or squid at the end, but they’re not my cup of tea!