Saturday Night in the Hooper house always usually sometimes means I cook a “different dish”. My interpretation of different is either a Disney inspired recipe or a long winded approach to a meal that can be done a lot quicker with a different recipe.
Paella it is!
We’re booked to go to Majorca this summer and Spanish was the inspiration tonight. What better way of getting into the holiday mood, even though it is 4 months away.
Dad: Right Kids, I’m cooking Paella tonight, it’s what we’ll eat on our holidays!
Imogen: I’ll have super noodles instead.
Abigail: Can I have sausages?
The kids couldn’t wait to try something new! Or in other words, it was Dinner for just Me and Cat.
You will need:
4 Chicken Thighs (Skin on)
Plain Flour
Olive Oil
100g Chorizo Sliced
200g Pancetta chopped
1 Onion Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
1 Litre Chicken Stock
A large Pinch of Saffron (one jar from Schwartz)
1 heaped Tsp Paprika
400g Paella Rice
Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
A handful of Frozen Peas
12 Raw King Prawns Peeled
14 Scallops
My method:
1. Preheat oven to 190°c
2. Coat Chicken thighs in seasoned flour. Pan fry with Olive oil until all sides are golden brown.
3. Place in Oven to cook for 20 minutes
4. In the frying pan, now add Sliced Chorizo and Pancetta and cook until crispy.
5. Add chopped onion and Garlic, cook until softened
6. Add Saffron to the Chicken stock in a jug.
7. Add Paprika and rice to the frying pan, stir briefly then add three quarters of the saffron and Chicken stock mix.
8. Leave to cook on a medium heat for around 20 minutes
9. Pour the rest of the stock in, add the Peas, Prawns and Scallops. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
10 Finally add the Chicken and sprinkle chopped Parsley on top.
Notes:
As per many of the recipes I’ve cooked I’ve thought about altering them. This one I would easily leave out the chicken. It added 20 minutes more effort than needed. While the Paella Rice and Chorizo and Stock were cooking in the pan, it looked like it was going to be greasy and very red. However the end result looked correct. We eat this with a garlic and cheese pizza, which was the only part Imogen tried!
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