Easy-to-cook Spanish dish

The Health Hub Cookery class at Carrick YMCA have been having fun making different national dishes and this week we made a Spanish paella. Unlike a risotto you don’t need to do all the stirring -just let it cook in a large deep frying pan and “Hola” you have a really tasty paella -perfect for all the family to enjoy!

spanish paella

Serves 4

1 red pepper, deseeded and diced

1 onion, diced

1 large skinless, boneless British chicken breast, cut into 2cm pieces

1 teaspoon paprika

150g pack diced chorizo

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

6 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric

200g Spanish paella rice

650ml hot fish or vegetable stock

180g raw prawns (optional)

100g frozen British petit pois

4 small tomatoes, cut into wedges

method

1. Toss the chicken pieces in the paprika to coat.

2. In a deep pan over a medium heat, fry the onion and red pepper until softened. Add the chicken, chorizo and garlic and cook until the chorizo has coloured andthe chicken has begun to brown.

3. Add the spring onions, turmeric, paella rice. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the rice is opaque.

4. Add the stock. Stir gently then simmer slowly for 10 minutes until the rice is half-cooked. You don’t need to stir it.

5. Add the petit pois and tomatoes to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through with no pink colour

6. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Cooks Tip: Try adding mussels for the last 3-4 minutes- simply add scrubbed mussels

and cover with a tight lid allowing them to cook until the shells open.