The recipe is Paella - none-authentic. The focus is to use leftover roast chicken. Some of the ingredients you can omit, or replace with your own preferences. Make this YOUR paella and then boast to your friends and family about how you can easily make something fancy (even though it's as easy as whipping up a bolognese). I hope you enjoy it!
Now for the ingredients:
- A diced large onion/a couple of medium ones
- A cup of frozen peas
- A red pepper (as much as you like - if any)
- Chopped Chorizo - as much as you like. (Opt for a mild-spicy one if you don't like a lot of spice - I do, however)
- Cooked seafood (for me, just prawns - the best quality you're willing to get. Add mussels, etc depending on what you like)
- Leftover chicken from a roast dinner. (Alternatively you can simply cook up a batch of whatever your favourite chicken meat is and use that, if you don't have any leftovers)
- Garlic cloves, sliced thick (personal preference for amount, I personally recommend a lot)
- 1 tbsp of Paprika
- Half a small lemon
- A glass of (fairly-sweet) white wine (optional)
- A pan full of water (appox. a couple of pints, I recommend 3 - the water needs to be boiling-hot)
- Paella rice (approx. 200-250g, what's that? 7-9oz?)
- Tomato puree (About 100-150g/3.5-5oz). (Or simply: 1/2-3/4 of a 200g tube)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Two chicken-stock cubes
- Olive oil for frying
Method:
To start you need a large frying pan. Ideally a paella pan, but I personally use a large frying pan. It needs to be a fairly big diameter. Mine is 12 inches in diameter at the rim and about 8 inches at the base. Put your frying pan on a medium-high heat to warm it and add some olive oil. Whilst that is warming, on a separate ring, put your pan of boiling water on a medium heat. Although you initially boiled the water, you want the water to merely remain hot on the hob, not boiling or bubbling in any way. Add the paprika and squeeze the lemon-half into this pan of water and stir it, also add to it a pinch of salt and black pepper.
Next fry the onion and chorizo in the now-hot frying pan until both have a little colour. Now add the garlic (and red-pepper if you used some). If like me you have partially-cooked chicken chunks (I used breast pieces), then add these now. IF HOWEVER you are using chicken strips, such as roast dinner leftovers or fully-cooked chicken, then don't add the chicken, just leave the chicken to one side for it will be added later.
Now add the rice - sprinkle it evenly all over the pan, then add the glass of wine, the tomato puree and crushed stock cubes. Then use a ladle (a smallish-medium one) to move roughly one-pint of the water from the other pan to the frying pan and give it a stir. I know it looks like that there's not very much rice in the pan, but trust me - it will be enough.
Continue letting it cook and the rice will soak up the water. Every time the rice soaks up most of it, add another ladle of water - or two and stir each time. When you've done this a few times, pick up a teaspoon and try a couple of grains of rice. It should have a kind of chalky texture. As it nears completion, the chalkiness will simply become softness - the texture of cooked rice. You will have to use your judgement. If it's very crunchy-chalky, then add another two ladles. If it's softish-chalky, then add one ladle. Continue adding ladles of water-mixture and letting it cook until the rice soaks it up, then try the rice again and again. Add half-ladles or less when it's close. Finally, when it has the tiniest amount of chalkiness left - practically cooked, but not quite - don't ladle anymore. Just let it soak up the remaining liquid left in the frying pan and then turn off the heat. There will still be a little liquid remaining and this small amount of liquid should have the consistency of a runny ketchup: not watery and not thick, like regular ketchup - just somewhere in between. It will be absorbed later.
You should have some water-mixture left in the other pan. Pour it away as you're now finished with it. (If for some reason you end up needing more - if the 3 pints were not enough - then simply make more using the above ratios).
Now microwave your peas for about a minute - in the cup itself, with some water which just about covers the peas. Your peas should come out defrosted, but not cooked at all. Now tip-away the water and then add the peas, your seafood (if any) and your leftover/cooked chicken (unless you already added partially-cooked chicken earlier) to your paella. Give the paella a thorough mix so that it is all incorporated.
Your paella should look a little wet, but most of the liquid should be absorbed by now. Take your pan off the heat entirely and let it sit aside to rest for about ten minutes (no lid or covering). During the ten minutes, the steam will billow off and the rice will continue to absorb the remaining liquid. You will end up with a moist - not watery, but moist - paella mixture. For me, the paella should already be seasoned perfectly, with the sweet peas balancing the saltiness, but season to your own taste.
I recommend serving it with a soft boiled egg: to boiling water add an egg(s) and let it boil for 3 & a 1/2 to 4 mins. Take it off the heat and tip out all the hot water. Fill the pan up to the top with cold, tap water and let it stay for a minute. Then carefully peel the egg and place it atop your served paella. It should still be runny when pierced: a lovely combo.
Like I said, it is none-authentic. In both cooking technique and ingredients used/not used. It is however my twist on a recipe for paella and does taste delectable. It can be very spicy or quite mild depending on the type of chorizo you use and the amount of it you use. Like practically all the ingredients here, modify to your own tastes. It is a great new way to use up leftover chicken or even turkey for those days when you're fed up of making chicken curry.
Stay beautiful <3
Love from your MattyBooLamb