A classic, colourful paella packed with saffron-scented rice, juicy prawns, smoky chorizo and sweet piquillo peppers. A brilliant one-pan dish for sharing, suited perfectly to our Wide Cast Iron Casserole Dish, ideal for developing a deep and flavourful socarrat beneath the tender rice.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 450g paella rice
- 1 pinch pinch of saffron threads
- 800ml chicken or fish stock
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 225g chorizo, sliced
- 1 full jar piquillo peppers
- 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 300g raw king prawns
- 150g peas
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Steps
1. To start, infuse the stock low and slow on a hob. Warm the stock in a saucepan over a low heat until dissolved, then add the saffron threads. Leave to steep while you prepare everything else.
2. Heat the olive oil in a Wide Cast Iron Casserole Dish or paella pan over a medium heat. Add the 1 onion and cook until softened.
3. Once the onion is translucent and soft, add the minced garlic and chorizo and cook for a couple of minutes until the chorizo releases its oils.
4. Stir in the paprika and sliced tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes soften.
5. Add the rice and stir briefly to coat the grains in all those lovely flavours. Allow the paella rice to fry for a few minutes to develop a nutty flavour before pouring in the saffron-infused stock.
6. Bring to a simmer then leave the pan undisturbed with the lid on. Don’t stir now until most of the liquid has been absorbed so the socarrat can develop. Keep an eye on the rice and if the dish becomes too dry then add more stock.
7. Nestle the raw king prawns, frozen peas and piquillo peppers into the rice and continue cooking until the prawns are pink and the rice is tender with a slightly crisp base.
8. Remove from the heat and give everything a good mix. Scatter over fresh parsley and serve straight from the pan with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Notes
The secret to good paella is the socarrat. The caramelised layer of rice on the bottom provides an essential depth of flavour. Resist the urge to stir once the rice goes in, and don't worry if you hear a little crackling towards the end, that's exactly what you want. A Wide Shallow Cast Iron or paella pan works best for this.
To keep the piquillo pepper’s bite, add them towards the end, else they tend to go a little mushy.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!