Chcken Paella, with Chorizo Sausage

Chicken pieces with diced chorizo sausage, tomato puree, chicken stock, chilli, mushrooms, carrots, courgette, potato, red pepper, plus the herbs basil, coriander leaf and tarragon. Plus basmati rice cooked in a little salt and turmeric.

The trick is to do it in clearly defined stages (preparation of the vegetables and chorizo, stir-fried in olive oil or butter; preparation of the salsa; adding the pre-roasted chicken; and finally adding the pre-cooked rice).

The vegetables and chorizo, and the salsa, were allowed to simmer for an hour under glass before I added the chicken.

For presentation purposes in future I might just steam the chicken pieces, and add them on top before serving. But it was a delicious meal nonetheless, and well worth the effort.

Pork and Chorizo Paella, with Potato

Roast pork from a joint, cut into wedges, plus about 75 grams of Chorizo sausage, cut into elliptical slices. Put into a pan of water along with diced onion and simmer for an hour at a low heat, along with a handful of arborio rice, which is the variety which is usually used for making a paella. Stir regularly.

Add the pork and vegetable stocks, diced garlic, and deseeded and chopped chilli. Twenty minutes in, add potato wedges to the pan. Ten minutes before the dish is ready, add the diced green beans and diced mushroom. Serve with black pepper.

Watch the pan carefully, since arborio rice absorbs lots of water, and the dish thickens quickly. Add more boiling water if the dish is becoming too dry.

Spanish Rice, Beans and Olives

A casserole oven-cooked dish, which is essentially a paella, but not cooked in a paella pan.

The onion was diced, the chillies were deseeded and diced, and placed in a little olive oil in the casserole dish, along with a third of a cup of American long grain rice. I added the olives and some minced garlic. Plus some turmeric and tomato passata.

The beans had been soaking since the preceding evening, so they were ready to be added also. The oven was preheated to 190 deg C. A cupful of hot water was added.

Like paella, the dish is ready when most of the moisture has been absorbed by the rice, but it should not be dry. I cooked this with the lid on for half an hour, and then I checked its progress. The dish went back into the oven, but this time without the lid. In another twenty minutes it was ready to serve.

I added no herbs or vegetable stock.A delicious and simple dish to prepare.

King Prawn Paella

Paella with King Prawns steaming after being removed from the hob. Made with Spanish arborio rice, onion, diced yellow pepper, chopped mushroom, and turmeric. I added fish stock to the rice, which was cooked first. Later on I added some dill. The prawns were added, along with more water, for the final ten minutes. Stirring occasionally.

King Prawn Paella

Chicken Paella

Chopped roast chicken, onions, red pepper, tomato, sliced ginger, crushed red chillies, chopped mushrooms, paprika, turmeric, and arborio rice. Rice cooked with turmeric until it approached the consistency of paella, and the chicken and vegetables were added and allowed to simmer until ready.

Chicken Paella