We are lucky enough to live in or frequently visit Spain, and more often than not we’ve never attempted the national dish. Most excuses lean towards being put off by the lengthy cooking time…but it is actually a lot easier than you think. Here is one of the best and easiest ‘Meat & Seafood Paella’ recipes around.
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
(makes paella for 4-6 people)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
6 large fresh tomatoes
150g chorizo, diced
500g chicken breast
1 tsp turmeric
400g long grain rice
2 litres fish or chicken stock
250g frozen beans
500g prawns
1. Fry the diced chicken on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While the chicken is cooking grate fresh tomatoes on a cheese grater and finely dice the onion.
2. In a separate paella dish (or large frying pan if you don’t have) heat the oil and add the chorizo and onion and fry until it releases its oils. Stir in the chicken, grated tomatoes, turmeric and rice until coated by the oils, then pour in the stock.
3. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Tip in the beans and cook for 5 minutes, then finally stir in the prawns to heat through for a final 3 minutes of cooking or until rice is cooked.
5. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
WINE MATCH
This Spanish, rice-based recipe inspires memories of fiestas. So, what to drink when celebrating and sharing the meal of seafood, chorizo and chicken with friends?
This is a great dish for regional matches. You need a white wine that’s got good crispness to it, either a Spanish Xarel- Lo grape or Albarino. A nice, dry, and crisp Albarino is a perfect match, but you can also buy some much more complex Albarino blends, so look out for them in the Spanish supermarkets.
The seafood and chicken would lend you to the white grape choice, however you can go for a dry rosé or even move out of Spain with a French Côtes de Provence Rosé or Loire Poilly-Fumé.
A delicious late Summer dish to enjoy with that perfect glass of wine.
Time to try something new- Salut!
