On the weekends I have a tad more time on my hands and so I make an effort to try out new recipes.  Fortunately my children and husband are quite happy to be the home cooking taste testers. This evening I turned to Karen Martini’s book Cooking at Home, a collection of appealingly photographed recipes that make home cooked meals marvelous. Karen’s family recipe for Paella was just the ticket on a crisp winter’s night, and best of all its another one-pot-wonder…less mess to clean up at the end!


* I made a few small changes to the original recipe, because I wanted to make one meal that could be eaten by EVERYONE, including my three year old. Firstly, I REDUCED the amount of green chillies. I used HALF of one chilli in the actual paella. I then chopped up the remaining two and half chillies, mixed them with a tablespoon of olive oil in a ceramic ramekin and placed this on the table for each diner to add if they wanted more heat. I left out the chilli powder. 
 
I also added half a teaspoon of saffron threads just as I added the rice to the pan. I soaked the saffron in a little boiling water BEFORE I commenced chopping any of the ingredients to allow the rich reddish colour and distinct flavour to be released. The saffron added an appetising golden hue to the entire dish. 

The third change was due to necessity – I had run out of frozen peas and substituted these with the same quantity of fresh, finely diced stringless beans.

Karen’s recipe generously serves six people. I wanted to increase the amount of protein in order to adequately feed eight (my mother was due to fly in from Perth). So I used 5 chicken thigh fillets and 12 prawns. 

I encourage you to give this recipe a go. It has texture, colour, and a superb flavour and aroma. Just as I started to plate up the paella, the doorbell rang and there stood my mother at the door. It was wonderful being able to share this meal with her too. Perfect timing. 

Paella with Chicken, Prawns, Chorizo and Capsicum

Ingredients
100 ml olive oil
2 chicken thighs cut into 2 cm pieces (I used 5)
6 green prawns (I used 12)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (omitted)
100 ml fino sherry
200 g mild chorizo sausage sliced into thin rounds
3 green chillies, seeds removed and finely diced (I used less, as per note above *)
6 cloves garlic finely diced
2 large red onions finely diced
sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 red capsicums – roast these for 25 minutes in a fan forced oven at 200 degrees. Wait for them to cool a little before slipping off the skins and dicing. I prepared these earlier in the afternoon. 
350 g Calasparra or arboria rice – its well worth seeking out the Spanish Calasparra rice, available from good grocers.   
1.5 litres hot chicken stock (I used a good quality ready made variety)
1/2 cup frozen peas
handful coriander leaves
handful mint leaves
2 lemons, cut into wedges

Heat up half the olive oil in either a paella pan or other wide deep pan. I used my wide Le Creuset cast iron pan. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes. Add the prawns, half the paprika, half the chilli powder if using it, and stir for about a minute. Add the sherry, cook this off for a minute and then spoon the mixture into a separate heatproof bowl. 

Heat up the oil that’s left and add the chorizo, garlic, onions, and green chilli (I added half a green chilli only). Cook for about 6 or so minutes over a medium heat. Stir in the remaining smoked and sweet paprika, season with salt and pepper, then add the capsicum, and rice. Stir over the heat for 3 minutes until the rice starts to just catch on the pan taking care not to let it burn. 

I then added the chicken and prawn mixture back to the pan, poured in the hot chicken stock, stirred to combine and reduced the heat to low. Simmer without the lid for 10 minutes. 

Finally add the peas or beans depending on what you are using, cover with the lid and simmer for an additional minute. Turn off the heat and leave covered for up to 5 minutes. 

Just before serving, scatter with coriander and mint leaves and serve with lemon wedges for diners to squeeze over their portions.