SPAIN
Paella
45-60 mins
4 persons
Average
There are various stories about the origins of Paella. One of those stories is about Moorish kings. When they were in power in large parts of Spain in the eighth century, they often left leftovers of chicken, rice and vegetables. These cliques took their servants home after dinner to make a dish at home, which later became known as Paella. The basis of Paella is the same everywhere, but everyone puts their own spin on it. In some regions of Spain seafood is used, while in other regions meat is used as the main ingredient. We made it with chicken and prawns.
Preparation
Step 1. Fry the chicken
Cut into cubes and fry in a large pan (paella pan or wok) with salt and pepper until the chicken is golden brown.
Remove it from the pan and let it rest on a plate.
Step 2. Add the ingredients
Cut the pepper into small strips, chop the onion and finely chop the garlic.
Place the pepper, onion and garlic in a pan (the same pan you fried the chicken in) and fry until the onion is translucent.
Cut the tomato into small cubes and add it and let it fry briefly.
Add the chicken back with extra salt and pepper to taste.
Add the white wine and 100 ml of water.
Add the turmeric (or saffron) until it turns yellow.
Add the peas and paprika powder and let it simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on the pan.
Step 3: Cook the rice
In the meantime, let the water for the stock boil and add a stock cube. Place it in a measuring cup next to the pan.
Add the uncooked rice to the pan with chicken/vegetables. As soon as the rice starts to crackle, you can add a dash of the stock water.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and add it.
Let it simmer for about 20 minutes with the lid on the pan. Add more stock water if the paella becomes too dry and the rice is not yet cooked.
Is the rice done? Then add the prawns and leave the pan on a low heat until the prawns are done.
Step 4. Serve the paella
Place the paella in a large serving bowl
Use the remaining half of the lemon to cut into wedges and place on the paella
Ingredients
For 4 persons:
300 grams of chicken (thigh) fillet
200 grams of prawns
300 grams of risotto or paella rice
3 tomatoes
2 peppers
150 grams of frozen peas
1 lemon
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp turmeric (or even better: 1 gram saffron)
2 tsp paprika powder
750 ml stock (1 stock cube with 750 ml boiling water)
150 ml white wine
Salt and pepper - to taste
Want to get in the mood? Here a music suggestion!
Buen Provecho! ('Enjoy your meal!')
