Paella!

(serves 6)

• So, in brainstorming for a dinner party, a spanish theme came up and i asked my Argentinian flat-mate Carolina about the infamous paella. She told me that paella is just a creative way to eat up the leftovers ~ it's the Spanish or south american version of fried rice i think, but it's definitely more time-consuming but super tasty! This is my 1st attempt at paella ~ quite tasty, but was too busy cooking and didn't have enough time to take photos though!

Prep time: 15 min

Cooking time: 50-60 min

Ingredients:

2 brown onions

1 red capsicum

4 cloves garlic

500g chicken thigh fillet

1 chorizo sausage

10 prawns

2 C basmati or long-grain rice

1L (4 C) chicken stock

1 tomato

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric 

2 tsp sumac (optional)

1 pinch saffron (if you have it)

1 lemon, to serve

handful of parsley, to serve

olive oil

salt and pepper

Special equipment: a large, deep, flat non-stick pan (or can make do with one wide pot and a shallow pan)

Method:

1. Finely dice the onion, garlic and capsicum.

2. Soak the saffron in a small bowl with 1/4 C hot water.

3. Wash and pat dry the chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces then marinate in 1 tsp of chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

4. Heat the pan with 1 T oil, then add the onion, capsicum and the rest of the garlic. Sauté until the onions are softened, 2-3 minutes.

5. Cut the chorizo into semi-circles or small squares.

6. Add the chicken and the chorizo and stir for another 3-4 minutes until the chicken is seared on the outside.

7. Add the rice and the stock and bring to the boil.

8. Add the saffron water, turmeric, cumin, and sumac and reduce to a medium heat and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until the stock is absorbed. Continue to stir regularly so it doesn't stick to the bottom too much.

9. Meanwhile, wash and devein the prawns.

10. Cut the tomato and the lemon into wedges.

11. When the stock is absorbed, season with salt and pepper. Add the prawns in and put the lid on for another 5-10 minutes until prawns are pink.

12. Serve with fresh tomato, lemon wedges and parsley on top.