While I prepared to share this paella recipe, I thought, “How do you pronounce paella?” Yes, it has “l”s in it, but no, you don’t pronounce them. In Spain, it would be pronounced pa-ey-ya. But last week my good friend, Chef Luisa Rios, came over to my place to teach my husband and me how to make it (and learn some knife skills). Chef Luisa is from Columbia, and in some areas of South America, the “l” is said like a “j,” making it pa-ey-ja.
As we sat down to eat the dish, however, my thoughts were that it should be called paeyum!
The wonderful thing about making this dish is that you can modify it to suit your tastes, like a pizza! In fact, the way that it’s served it often looks somewhat like a pizza, in a round shallow pan with colourful pieces of food nicely placed in/on it.
The original paella recipe was from Jamie Oliver and included fennel, green pepper, chorizo, pancetta, and bacon, but to fit everyone’s preferences, this is what we made.
Paella Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 bunch asparagus, quartered
- 1 small jar artichokes, sliced
- 1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock, more if needed
- 1 pinch saffron, about 1/4 teaspoon
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp paprika, smoked
- 1 cup paella rice
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 cups peas
- 12 prawns
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Bring stock to a boil in a medium pot. Turn off heat and add saffron to infuse. Keep
warm. - Pull peas from the freezer and let thaw.
- Dice chicken breast into 3/4 inch cubes. Season and set aside.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add peppers and sauté until
tender-crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Remove. - Add chicken to the pan and sauté until cooked through and golden brown on all sides. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer to a clean bowl.
- Add the onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and saute for 20 seconds.
- Add paprika, a pinch of salt, and rice, stirring to coat.
- Add 1.5 cups of stock to the skillet and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for
15-20 minutes or until rice is almost cooked through. Be sure to stir every 5 minutes.
Test doneness of rice and add more stock if needed. Rice should be moist, but not too
wet. - Transfer rice to a large bowl and add raw prawns. The residual heat of the rice will
cook them. Add chicken, peas, sautéed asparagus, peppers, asparagus, and artichokes. Let cool and add parsley. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Adjust seasoning. - Serve with lemon wedges.
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