Pretty Paella

Thursday, July 03, 2008

My great Spanish friend always brings me back saffron from her trips to Tenerife, so I have a great excuse to make paella. This was delicious and so pretty!

ingredients

• few T olive oil
• 3oz chorizo cut into small chunks
• 4 chicken thighs, de-boned, cut in half
• 1-2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 1 small Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 200g paella rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 2 fl oz white wine
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 1/2 pints chicken stock
• 2 oz frozen peas, thawed
• 4 large tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
• 5 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 1 oz unsalted butter
• 1/2 - 1lb squid, cleaned and cut into small pieces
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• cilantro, chopped to sprinkle on at the end

to do

1. Heat half the olive oil in a paella dish or large heavy-based pan over a medium heat, add the chorizo and fry for 2-3 minutes, then remove and set aside.
2. Add the chicken pieces to the same pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin is browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Place the mussels into a pan of boiling water, cover and boil until they open. Discard any that do not open. Strain and reserve the mussels and the broth.
4. Add half the remaining olive oil to the paella pan and fry the onion, two of the cloves garlic, the chilli flakes and the red pepper. Cook slowly until the onion has softened but not browned, about eight minutes.
5. Add the rice to the pan, stirring well to coat it in the oil, for two minutes, then add the bay leaves, paprika, the toasted saffron, white wine, lemon juice and prepared stock. Cook gently for five minutes.
6. Add the fried chicken and chorizo, cover with a piece of dampened greaseproof paper and simmer gently for ten minutes.
7. Stir in the peas. Cover and simmer about five minutes.
8. Remove the greaseproof paper from the pan and stir in the tomatoes, parsley, lemon zest and butter.
9. Add the remaining olive oil to a separate frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the remaining clove of garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, adding the squid for the last minute. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add to the paella.
10. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.