Monday, March 8, 2010

Chicken Prawn and Chorizo Paella



It was just the other day that I bought the Movida Rustica cookbook (on sale!) and thought 'Hmm, looks like I'll have to start making Spanish dishes'.  The book is a really luscious tome, full of images of Spain and its food as well as Frank Camorra's observations of eating there.  Plus, and this is a personal opinion, the thick, art paper-y pages have a really nice smell...

But after looking at a couple of recipes, I realised at I'm not quite ready to dive into the book's contents just yet.  Need to buy some more provisions and utensils to really do it justice. So, I made this recipe from Donna Hay instead.

Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo Paella
serves 2-3

Ingredients
1 1/2 tblsp olive oil
200g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and chopped
200g green (raw) prawns, peeled and deveined
1 chorizo sausage, sliced thinly
1 small brown onion, chopped
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup (150g) medium-grain rice, such as Arborio
440g can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups (310ml) chicken stock
parsley and lemon wedges, to serve

Method
1.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, non-stick frypan over high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 minutes).  Add the prawns and cook until they change colour (about 2-3 minutes).  Remove to a plate lined with paper towel.
2.  Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until browned (about 1 minute each side).  Put with the chicken and prawn on the plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
3.  Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the onion, garlic, chilli and paprika.  Stir until onion is softened, about 2 minutes.
4.  Add the rice, tomatoes and stock. Stir, then cover with a tight-fitting lid.  Turn heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender.
5.  Stir through the chicken, prawn and chorizo.  Top with parsley and squeeze over the lemon before serving.

Recipe adapted from donna hay magazine (Feb/Mar 2010)

Some of the ingredients for the paella-style dish

The chicken, prawns and chorizo are cooked first.

Then, the rice, tomatoes and stock are added to the onion and spices.

Served with lemon wedges and crusty bread.

20 comments:

  1. Oh I am guilty of having so much cookbooks on my shelves but I always end up using old faithfuls or surfing the net for actual recipes to use! No matter - the paella looks great :)

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  2. I always love the paella. Very versatile. Love the chicken, prawn & chorizo combo :) I saw the Motiva Rustica for a great price at Target... I think I should get the book.

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  3. Paella looks so delicious! I love all of your ingredient shots, they are beautiful!

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  4. Your paella not only looks great it seems to be fairly easy to make too.

    I've never attempted to make one before because I always thought they were too complicated and plus, I didn't own a paella pan thingamajig but I am definitely going to try this one.

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  5. I love paella! For my 21st birthday I asked my boyfriend to get a paella dish for me; he did and I made paella once for his family. With autumn here, I think I will try to attempt to make it once again (with patatas bravas of course!)

    Your paella looks delish!

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  6. i am a huge fan of paella... i would have gone through more than 100 recipes .. but each one was complcated than the other. Yours sounds uncomplicatd and the pics are so helpful. One question - can i use any other sausage, as i wont get chorizo where i live...?.

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  7. hi nandini - wow, 100 is a lot of recipes! Any type of spicy sausage would work in this recipe - in fact, the original recipe did not have any sausage at all - I just added chorizo because I like it so much!

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  8. Chorizo are sooo good. They make all dishes tasty. Great with rice, pasta or as part of a salad.

    I like your recipe. It looks really tasty and pretty easy. Mmmm

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  9. I loooooove Spanish food. This paella looks gorgeous and is even making me hungry despite the fact I've just had dinner!

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  10. I love the Movida book as well and have wanted to try the Paella recipe but never had the time. Your Donna Hay recipe does sound delicious as well.

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  11. I love the smell of a new book!

    Looks delicious Belle :) Did you get a crust on the bottom? I've never made paella but I hear that's the secret. Still, I've eaten crustless ones that I have loved, and you've got a nice crust on that baguette so you seem pretty sorted either way ;)

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  12. Lovely combination of ingredients although I have to confess adding chorizo to anything makes it instantly lustable to me! :P

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  13. i love Paella..and the way you have illustrated the entire thing with the pictures is really nice!! :)

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  14. Yummm, I have a serious weakness of paella. Yours looks lovely, it has such a great, rich colour to it!

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  15. The paella is so colourful and yummilicious!

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  16. Looks delicious! I used to avoid paella at all cost having misunderstood it to be the tasteless and undercooked rice mixture I had in Adelaide years ago. But I've had a much better paella dish since and would like to attempt cooking it one day :)

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  17. ooh, that looks like a lovely hearty meal! it's got a lot of great ingredients! i haven't had the opportunity to make paella yet, but this looks easy and delicious to make!!!!

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  18. I have never had a great paella. I have eaten it several times, but I have never had one that made me clap my hands to the heavens. However, I did eat onet hat I really enjoyed, but it was more like a seafood risotto, rather than a true paella. Oh well, one day. Your paella looks easy and tasty. Perhaps I will try and make that one! Thanks for sharing.

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  19. Hi Helen (Grab Your Fork) – I know! It’s so much easier to search the net for recipes. I ‘read’ cookbooks more for the pictures, I think.

    Hi Ellie – Movida Rustica is a lovely book. I got it from Myer, love it when they have 1-day sales!

    Hi Megan @ FeastingonArt – thanks, you can’t go wrong with an ingredient still life :)

    Hi BuBbles – I was always put off by paella, too, but as you can see, if you aren’t too concerned with being authentic, then it is quick and tasty.

    Hi Phuoc’n Delicious – oh, you’re so lucky to have a paella dish (and a good bf!). I imagine that the paella would look great in a proper pan.

    Hi Mark @ Cafe Campana – haha, another chorizo-lover! I refer to them as ‘the versatile sausage’.

    Hi john@heneedsfood – good, my work here is done :)

    Hi Trissa – yes, good ol’ Donna Hay is fab for a reliable meal

    Hi Conor @ HoldtheBeef – I actually prefer the crustless version because it’s easier to clean up the pan afterwards (no, I don’t use a dishwasher!). But I think you’re right: the crusty bit on the bottom is supposed to be the best.

    Hi Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – another chorizo fan ! I think we need to form an appreciation society.

    Hi BNDQ8 thanks, glad you like it. I like to show the steps so that I can remember what I did when I make the dish again!

    Hi Stephcookie – isn’t the colour great? It’s the canned tomatoes...

    Hi penny aka jeroxie – yummicilious indeed! I will definitely make this again.

    Hi foodwink – I think you need to add some tasty things like chorizo or prawns to bring out the flavour. And lots of spices, of course.

    Hi krissy @ the food addicts – thanks! I hope you get the chance to try it soon.

    Hi Amy @ cookbookmaniac – you’re welcome. Now that you mention it, this version is probably more of a risotto, but ‘paella’ sounds better, hehe!

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  20. Had a dinner party last night and i want sure how this was going to go as it was my first time making the Paella. But it was so so easy and an absolute hit! Thanks for this recipe.

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