Foodie Friday - Paella

Inspired by the lovely summer weather at the beginning of the week, I have decided to make a Chicken and Prawns Paella for this week's Foodie Friday. You can create a variation of these by changing the Chicken, Chorizo and Prawns. You can create a Sea food Paella or a meat-fest Paella...

Ingredients
60 ml Olive Oil plus extra for frying the chicken
1 large Onion (white), diced
200 grams Chorizo, cut into cubes
250 grams Paella rice
3 Garlic cloves, crushed (optional) 
1 tbsp Tomato purée
1 tsp ground Paprika
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced or cut into strips
1500 ml Saffron infused Chicken stock - see below for preparation method. 
1/2 glass White Wine or Vermouth
300 grams Chicken -  Breast, Thigh or both. See detailed below for preparation method.
300 grams King Prawns, raw
Chopped flat leaf Parsley
Lemon wedges to serve

Saffron infused Chicken Stock
Re-heat or make hot chicken stock. Add a good pinch of Saffron. Saffron is not the cheapest ingredient in the world but it is a key ingredient in this dish. I say good pinch as I leave it up to you how much to use.
Simmer and keep it hot if using immediately. Otherwise, let it cool and keep in the fridge or freeze for future use.

Grilled / Fried Chicken
Grilled or barbecued Chicken adds a different dimension to this dish but you can also fry the Chicken if that is more convenient. To prepare the Chicken, firstly dry each piece (whether using breast or thigh), season and rub Olive oil all over it. Grill, barbecue or fry your Chicken until nicely coloured on the outside but not cooked through as we will finish the cooking process in the Paella dish. We don't want to dry out the Chicken. Once rested, Cut into strips.

Preparation

• Add Olive oil to a large pan or Paella pan, if using one.
• Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the Onions. Stir to ensure all Onions are coated with the oil. Cook on a medium heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes until the Onions are cooked, soft and translucent. Make sure the Onions aren't beginning to colour.
• Add Chorizo and stir.
• Add the Rice to the pan and fry for 4 minutes until the edges of the grains are white but not coloured or starting to burn.
• Add the Garlic and Tomato purée.
• Add White wine, allow it to reduce down.
• Cook for 5 minutes, ensuring nothing burns. Add Olive oil if needed. 
• Sprinkle Paprika and stir.
• Add Bell Peppers and stir.
• Add hot Saffron infused Chicken stock, ladle by ladle, so there is just enough liquid to keep the Rice moist, but don't drown it. Once the liquid is absorbed, add more stock. Make sure not to let the Rice dry out. Keep adding stock until the Rice is cooked.

• While the Rice is cooking, prepare the Chicken. Please see above for preparation method.
• Add Prawns and Chicken strips (or any other ingredients you wish to add).
• Cover to ensure the Chicken doesn't dry whilst we finish cooking.
• Season to taste.
• Add Parsley and squeeze one wedge of Lemon directly into the pan and stir.
• Serve with a wedge of Lemon and a drizzle of Olive oil (optional)

Bon Appetite