Paella of the Land & Sea

I accidentally mastered this recipe the other night. I had no intention of posting it, but it turned out so perfectly with a mind-blowing “socarrat” (the name for the crispy flavoursome crust that forms on the bottom of the pan). Serve with a generous sprinkling of parsley and lemon wedges. While it seems intimidating, paella can become a speedy, one-pot, mid-week meal that can be repurposed with many meats and veggies you have in your home. You should insist on chorizo though as it can’t be paella without it.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 cups Arborio rice

4 cups chicken stock

1 onion, diced

4-5 chorizo links, cut into coins

1 kg prawns or shrimp (frozen or fresh)

1 chicken breast cut into small pieces (or two thighs)

2 cups cauliflower florets

1/2 cup parsley

1 lemon cut into wedges

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large frying pan and start to fry chorizo. Add onion and allow to fry in fat. Add chicken pieces and allow to brown on all sides. You may need to add a tablespoon of water here while meats fry to deglaze. Once browned, add rice and salt and fry briefly in the fat allowing the spices to coat the rice granules. Add cauliflower florets and sauté briefly.

Next add chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and place prawns on top. Cover pan with lid and let simmer on low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Check pot around the 15 minute mark and add another 1/2 cup chicken stock.

Allow to cook another 20 minutes covered. Hopefully your socarrat has formed after this time, but this is rather an art, so don’t worry if the rice is soft on the bottom, it will still be perfectly delicious. You just don’t want it to burn so you may need to “listen” to the paella to see if more water is needed / more time on the fire (possibly uncovered) is required.

Sprinkle parsley over dish and serve with generous squirts of lemon juice.