Chicken Paella
This delectable Paella dish is perfect for a weekend meal to share with the family, with smoked flavours and spicy chorizo, seafood and chicken bites
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
15
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
30
MINUTES
Ingredients
8 tbsp olive oil
150g chorizo, sliced
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
270g paella rice
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
800ml hot chicken stock
500g live mussels — see note on preparation
6 large prawns, whole, raw and unshelled
300g chicken, sliced
50g Desmond cheese (or Parmesan) grated
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Method
How to prepare mussels: First, check if the mussels are alive (dead ones should be discarded). To do this, place them under cold running water: if they close, they’re good to eat, if they remain open throw them away. Clean shells in running water. Pull the beard off closed shells. Mussels that remain closed after cooking should be discarded.
Heat a large paella pan or heavy-bottomed frying pan, about 30cm diameter, over a medium heat and add the olive oil. When hot, fry chorizo until crispy.
Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes and red pepper, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir the rice into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the paprika and turmeric, followed by the hot stock, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mussels and prawns and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Scatter the pieces of smoked chicken over the rice, followed by the Desmond cheese.
Leave to simmer for 3 minutes, then cover for a further 10 minutes or until the mussels have opened completely. Serve with lemon wedges.
This recipe is from the Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook by Clodagh McKenna, published by Collins
