Spanish Paella

My very special husband was deserving of a very special birthday dinner of late, and with the homecoming of some old friends and the recent nuptials of some others, a little dinner party seemed in order.
I do love a themed dinner so Spanish was the call of the day. Cheese croquettes to begin with all oozy and creamy on the inside and crispy crunchy on the outside, an enormous paella for mains, and a nice (non-alcoholic) Sangria to wash it all down with.
I have made paella only once before, and on that occasion I had three different recipes and my culinary whiz mother, Jen, to guide me. This time, I used the recipe that Jen and I devised on our last attempt, and the results were just as delicious.

Holly and Jen's Paella Recipe (serves 6-8 as a main)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, chopped
• 3 chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups paella rice (I think arborio would probably work also)
• 7 cups chicken stock (infused with a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary and a pinch of saffron), kept warm
• 1 cup of green peas 
• 15 large green prawns (I prefer to use the cutlets/ shelled version)
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• Additional pinch of saffron

Recipe:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large paella pan (this one was about 40cm diameter)

2. Brown chorizo, then set aside.

3. Brown chicken in same pan, then set aside.

4. Add a little more oil and cook onion, garlic and capsicum until the onion is translucent.

5. Add tomatoes and paprika, and season well with salt and pepper.

6. Put the chorizo and chicken back in and stir to combine.

7. Add the rice and allow to cook until translucent.

8. Add the warm stock and additional pinch of saffron, and cook at a slight boil for 10-20 minutes (do not stir after the first 5 min, just let it sit... it's OK if it goes crunchy on the bottom, that's the way they have it traditionally).

9. Add peas and prawns on top (4 minute each side for the prawns).

10. When the rice is al dente, remove from the heat and cover completely with tin foil and leave for 15-20 minutes - Do not uncover!

11. After 20 minutes, remove foil and serve from whole pan at the table. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired, and serve with crusty bread.

I also made a smaller vegetarian version (adding extra green capsicum, using vegetable stock, and asparagus on top in place of prawns), and just did a third of the quantities shown in this recipe and it worked really well, so if you have less people, or a smaller pot adjust the amounts accordingly.

I hope you can enjoy this in your homes as much as we did in ours!

xx