Chicken & Chorizo Paella

Ingredients

Serves 8 people

2 cups arborio or bomba rice
6-8 cups of chicken stock
1 large paprika, diced into 1cm squares
3 chicken breasts (medium)
2 teaspoons mild paprika powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 full chorizo sausage - usually about 30 cm long (make sure you get the Spanish chorizo that is cured and smoked and not the Mexican one, which is raw and crumbly) - chop into slices that are about 1/2 cm thick
2 bay leaves
1 can of peeled tomatoes (chunks)
1 pinch of saffron (ideally Indian or Iranian)
1/2 a zucchini, finely diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (ideally dry)
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

PREPARE THE CHICKEN:

First, cut the chicken breasts into 3-4cm cubes (if you make small pieces, there is a risk that the chicken dries out) and put them in a medium mixing bowl.  Put in two pinches of salt and 3 rotations of your pepper mill, with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix well and let it sit for 30 min.

Then, in a large, shallow skillet (ideally a paella pan), add 1 tablespoon of butter and let it melt; once it is sizzling, add in the chicken with the marinade and sear it at high heat to get a good golden hue on all sides, without cooking through all the way (it will finish cooking in the paella).  Put it in a bowl and let it rest until you need to add it to the paella.

PREPARE THE SAFFRON:

Heat a half cup of the chicken stock, and mix the saffron threads into it, and stir well.  The saffron needs time and heat to bloom into the stock to release its full flavor and color.

.THE PAELLA:

In the same skillet that you seared the chicken, on medium heat, put the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions, and saute well, picking up the little bits of seared chicken and incorporating them into the mixture.  Once the onions are translucent, add the bay leaves and the chorizo and incorporate well.  When you see the paprika being released from the chorizo into the oil, add the chopped pepper and zucchini into the mix, and keep sauteeing until the vegetables are partially cooked.  Throw in a splash of the white wine to deglaze the pan and pick up all the brown bits at the bottom, mixing well.  Add the garlic.

Now add the rice into the mix and mix it well so that it is incorporated into the vegetables and chorizo.  When you hear a crackling sound of the rice cooking, stir in the remainder of the white wine and deglaze the pan.  Once the wine is absorbed into the rice, add in the saffron infused stock and mix well, until absorbed.  Add in 1 cup of stock and let it absorb into the rice. Add the paprika and turmeric powder and incorporate well into the rice.

Then add the tomato chunks with the tomato liquid and stir into the paella.  Add more stock as needed, just one cup at a time, allowing it to completely get absorbed into the paella.  If you want to get the hardened lining at the bottom, stop stirring the rice and just even it out so that it is at a consistent level throughout the skillet else it will be undercooked in parts.

Add in the chicken and press down so that it is immersed into the paella.  Keep adding stock until fully absorbed.  Take a taste of it and add more salt if necessary.  When almost done, add the last cup of stock and cover the pan with aluminum foil.  Turn off the heat, and let it just simmer down while absorbing the last of the stock.  Let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.