I cooked myself such a terrific paella last night that I have been itching to eat the remainder for lunch today (and I may have the remainder for dinner). But before I scoffed it, I managed to hold off long enough to take some quick pictures.
Delicious. Recipe follows.
The pics aren’t that great (maybe I should ask Mr Holliday aka Noodlepie for tips) but it’s overcast today, so the food was under bad house lighting, plus food photography comes with its own special tricks, plus I was hungry so couldn’t be bothered to get out a better lens or sort out how the food looked. I slapped it on the plate, took a few snaps and then tucked in.
Anyway, recipe:
Paella (for 4 persons, three hungry people):
- 1 large Spanish onion
- 2-4 chicken legs with skin on
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 8 prawns in shells with legs on
- 6 large mussels, shells open
- Seafood mix – octopus and assorted other bits
- 20-25 slices Chorizo sausage
- 1 can plum tomatoes
- Tomato puree
- 1 small packet Spanish paella rice
- 1 pint strong chicken stock
- Peas
- 1/2 lemon
Cooking instructions:
- Cut up the onion and start frying in a large pan in oil and butter
- Add chicken legs
- Cover and fry for 10-15 minutes
- Add chopped up garlic cloves
- Cover and fry for another 5-10 minutes
- Add chorizo, swish around pan getting red pigment on everything
- Fry 5 minutes
- Add plenty of paella rice – about 375g or two-thirds of a small packet
- Fry for 5 minutes, mixing everything up
- Add can tomatoes and a few dollops of puree
- Add chicken stock
- Season with salt and people, stir it all up
- Add prawns, mussels and seafood mix
- Cut up lemon into four chunks, squeeze over food then chuck in
- Add peas
- Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes on low heat
- Eat!
Of course you can do lots more. I did add any mushrooms for example. And I didn’t have a green pepper sadly. Plus I had run out of saffron. Nonetheless, who cares when it tastes so bloody good? The most important part, of course, is to get good proper chicken and fresh seafood from a local market – not the tasteless crap you find in supermarkets.
Anyway, glad I’ve shared that with everyone 🙂
Looks good! Might make it if I feel particularly adventurous one day…
I’m off to eat my Tesco Lemon Chicken 😐
Not at all bad Kieren – I am mightily impressed. I understand rabbit is more ‘authentic’ than chicken, but what doi authenticists know? However, may I just link that THIs is how to cook a Paella
http://www.flickr.com/photos/noodlepie/tags/makingpaella/show/
🙂
BTW – I’ll be at Les Blogs in paris next month. Will you? Or do you know of anyone who needs coverage feature or blog? Email me my Mac blew up and I’m not using RSS/following blogs until the new one arrives…
Good lord, it’s probably best to start with what *wasn’t* in that paella. Never been a big fan of rabbit. Don’t know why. Although they were skinning some rabbits at the butchers when I bought the chicken – maybe someone was trying to tell me something.
Nice snaps, as ever.
Yes, I read you were going to Les Blogs, and thought for a second about going but I’ve got too much work on. Plus I’m not sure my French is up to it anymore. Have you tried The Register? They might be interested in some stories. Ask Joe Fay at firstname.lastname [at] the register co dot uk.
Kieren
They have fresh hares on my local market, fur and everything. Not sure I’d take any pleasure in attacking that…
Les Blogs is all in English. I’ve heard it’s very, very good, but I really need commissions along with all the networking opps. I’ll see what Joe at The Reg says.
My favourite butchers at the covered market in Oxford (M. Feller) has a massive array of huge animals hanging outside its shop every year. Huge boars, deer, pigs, whatever.
I love it. And I find it fascinating when go “oh no! oh god!” when they walk past then – before them popping into the butchers to buy a lovely slice of what is outside. That’s never fails to amaze me.
I took some snaps of this last year. Hang on… You can now see them here: http://www.kierenmccarthy.co.uk/photographs/?path=oxford/covered-market-xmas
Kieren
HA – a wee bit Asia in Oxford – with European beasts. Love these spots. I always remember walking through my local market in Iksan in South Korea when I lived there for a year. There was a very distinctive smell. I knew it was meat, but not meat I’d ever smelled before. Around the next turn I bumped into the dogmeat girls hacking up a fresh one.
Asia really puts Europe, especially Britain, to shame in the mad market arena. This is the maddest I’ve ever expereinced:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OUNr5bFiLec&mode=related&search=
All night fish selling for the resto trade only. Bloody insane.
BTW – nothing back from the Reg. Looks like I’ll be doing lesblogs for Commentisfree – 4 or more posts we have agreed. Suits me.