Almost forgot to take the shot before the entire lot disappeared!


I had a million and one things to do this afternoon, including making lunch magically appear for eight people. Imagine how wonderful it would be during these moments to just be able to click one’s fingers? Daydream aside, I just didn’t have time to spend marinating, dicing, simmering and the such. I needed a nutritious and deliciously satisfying dish that would pretty much cook itself. 

So I decided to improvise by combining a couple of my favourite flavoursome recipes and methods into one delectable dish. My Oven Baked Paella turned out to be the perfect lunchtime solution. I also wanted to incorporate capsicums as a side dish with a difference. I had a couple of big red capsicums that needed to be used today. I cut each in half, laid them into a separate oven proof dish and drizzled them with a little olive oil. These were roasted for 30 minutes, removed from the oven and the blackened skins slipped off. I then sliced them up in their roasting dish and crumbled an authentic Greek feta over the top to create a warm and mouthwatering salad. 

This entire meal would also work well as a busy week day dinner with preparations being done earlier on – which only take around 15 minutes – and the whole lot just pushed into the oven 40 minutes before it is time to eat.

My Oven Baked Paella to generously serve 8 people

Olive oil
60 g unsalted butter
4 small cloves garlic crushed
1 large Spanish onion finely diced
1 large or 2 small carrots finely diced
300 g stringless green beans, cut into bite sized pieces on the diagonal.
2 long sticks of celery finely diced
2 mild chorizo sausages (these still have a bit of a chilli taste but not very strong, so they are suitable for children)
4 plump boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces. 
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads – I know these should be soaked in warm water before use, but I was in a hurry and just sprinkled them over the rice during preparation with great success. 
3 cups Calasparra or Carnaroli rice
6 cups chicken stock salt reduced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Jalapeno chilli finely diced (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees on a fan bake or fan forced setting. 

Take out the largest and deepest, ovenproof baking pan that you have. Of course if you are cooking for a smaller number of people, you can simply reduce all the quantities and use a smaller dish. 

Melt the olive oil and butter over a medium heat in this pan and add all of the veggies. Saute for five minutes. 

Add the thickly sliced chorizo sausage, sizzle for about two minutes and then add the chicken thighs. Keep stirring the mixture to brown the chicken. 

Add the rice and the saffron and stir until the rice is coated with the pan juices and has turned opaque. 

Pour in the chicken stock which should be at room temperature. Taste and add sea salt and the jalapeno chilli if you want the extra heat. Alternatively you can chop the chilli up and offer it to diners on the side. 

Cover tightly with aluminium foil and place in the oven for a total of 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and leave uncovered in the oven for that extra 10 minutes to brown and crisp up on top. 

Serve straight from the oven with the warm roasted capsicum and feta salad piled on top of this aromatic rice.