Another Gordon Ramsay recipe! Paella is a dish that I love after having tried it in Spain during my graduation trip (how I wish I can go back there!) But I have not tried making it because saffron is so expensive here! A small box of saffron will set me back by at least $10!
The chance to make paella came when X wanted to cook something for me – so he sponsored all the ingredients, but somehow it ended up me cooking the dish… oops!
The preparation is very straight forward, sauté the ingredients, add stock and seafood, and simmer until done – definitely manageable!
We splurged a little and bought tiger prawns but I think it would have been equally good with other large prawns – tiger prawns are quite pricey! We also substituted Spanish rice with Arborio rice and made the paella in my 12-inch non-stick frying pan. Was really glad the paella turned out well despite not having the traditional equipment!
I really love the paella as it was so delicious and flavourful! Will definitely be making it more often in the future.
Step-by-step Photos | |
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| 1) Pan-fry the chicken until browned on all sides. | 2) Add in chorizo, then onion and sauté well. |
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| 3) Add in the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. | 4) Add in the Spanish rice (I used Arborio). |
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| 5) Coat the rice with the oil. | 6) Add in chicken stock to cook the rice. |
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| 7) Add in saffron and continue to let it simmer. | 8) Add in prawns and cook until the water has been absorbed. |
I’m submitting this to Cook Like A Star, hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake.
Chicken, Chorizo and Prawn Paella
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 chicken thighs, debone and deskinned
- 1 chorizo sausage, ~100 grams, sliced
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
- 200 g Spanish rice
- 500 ml water or stock
- 1/2 chicken stock cube, Omit if using stock
- A pinch of saffron threads
- 4 to 6 large tiger prawns, trimmed and slightly butterflied
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- Chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat olive oil in a paella pan (or a large, shallow frying pan/skillet, 12 to 14-inch in diameter) over medium heat until shimmering.
- While the oil is heating, chop chicken into slightly bigger than bite-size pieces. Place the chicken in the hot oil to brown the sides. Push the chicken aside and add in the chorizo. Lightly brown the chorizo then add in the onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent and add in the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute more.
- Add in the rice and sauté for a couple of minutes until rice is coated with oil.
- While rice is cooking, soak the saffron threads in the water for a couple of minutes. Add the water into the pan and crumble the stock cube all over. Add in the dried rosemary.
- Turn the heat up until it starts to boil then turn the heat down to medium-low to simmer. Add in the prawns, submerging completely (or as much as possible) underneath the rice. Stir occasionally and simmer uncovered, until the rice is al-dente. Don't stir too much as you will end up releasing too much starch from the rice, making it sticky.
- At the end, spread the paella evenly in the pan and turn the heat up to crisp up the bottom slightly if you prefer a crispier paella (but not too much!)
- Garnish with parsley (if using) and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
NOTES
Super Naggy:
- I couldn’t find Spanish rice, so I used Arborio rice instead, which I found it in NTUC finest.
- Do you rinse or not rinse the rice? I have seen Gordon Ramsay adding it directly into the pan without washing it, but being paranoid, I decided to wash it anyway.
- I was perplexed when Gordon Ramsay’s recipe stated a few saffron threads – just what in the world is a few? So I followed the package’s instructions and used about 15 threads of saffron.
- When I made the recipe for the first time, I added the saffron directly into the frying pan, but I found that this resulted uneven colouring of the rice, so I will recommend soaking the saffron threads in water first.
- Based on package’s instructions, I was supposed to use 1 stock cube for 500ml of water, but because I have a lot of other ingredients contributing to the flavours, I used half of what was recommended, which was enough for my taste buds. Different brand of stock cubes have different recommendations, so do read the instructions first!
- Use really large prawns otherwise they will turn to mush by the time you finish cooking the rice. If you can only get smaller prawns, add the prawns at a later stage. For the prawns, I used a pair of kitchen scissors and trimmed away the antenna and the sharp edges (on top of the head and at its tails). Then I snip the back of the prawns and rinsed out the intestines.
Me says
You did not eat a Paella with Chorizo in Spain. No way. xD
Jasline N. says
Hi, yes I know. This is totally not an authentic paella. I was young and naive when I made this and didn’t know better!
Yesenia Callalli says
Thats is not Paella. Chorizo??? Paella is never spicy.How can u call a dish with rice and seafood paella. Pésimo
kathrin says
by any chance do you know the nutritional values of this dish ? i chose to make this as part of my food exam in highschool and it would be a big help if i was able to get hold of them for my write up x
Jasline N. says
Hi Kathrin, sorry I don’t know the nutritional value of the dish. You can try using those online nutritional value calculator and do a calculation.
Lorena says
As a Spaniard I am ashamed that you call that Paella. Traditional paellas are chicken and rabbit or just seafood, never mixing both. Thats just rice with things that tourist traps sell to people. Not your fault, but if you want to call spanish paella to a dish, be sure to follow a spanish recipe next time.
Jasline N. says
Hi Lorena! Thank you for your comment. Understand that because Gordon is not a Spaniard, his recipe is not as authentic it should be. If you have an authentic Spanish recipe for paella, please let me know so I can give it a try!
RebeccaSubbiah RDN (@chowandchatter) says
looks amazing and those prawns were worth it for sure
Clinton Pepper says
Delicious recipe. Would only recommend to add prawns a little bit later on.
canelakitchen says
I love paella and this look wonderful Jasline!! Yummmm
Jasline N. says
Thanks Gloria! I’m sure you will love the combination of chicken and prawns in this paella!
atasteofmadess says
I really need to cook with prawns more often!! THis looks so tasty 🙂
Jasline N. says
You should! I love the umami taste that prawns give to a dish!
Amelia says
Hi Jasline, oh my… your paella look absolutely delicious. Well done, 2 thumbs up for you. Excellent photography skill too.
Have a wonderful weekend, regards.
Amelia
Jasline N. says
Thanks Amelia! But I think my photography still can be improved, thank you for the compliments and support! Hope you are having a great weekend too!
Juliana says
OMG what a delicious looking paella…one of my favorite rice dishes…
Hope you are having a fun week Jasline 🙂
Jasline N. says
Thanks Juliana! I feel like making some again soon. Have a great weekend!
Doreen says
Hi Jasline,
Mmmm…your paella look so so good! I’m drooling~
I’m going to try to cook this someday!
mui
Jasline N. says
Hi Doreen! Thank you so much! I want to try cooking paella again too!
SavoringTime IntheKitchen says
I love paella but haven’t had it in so long! This looks like such a wonderful recipe and one I am going to save. We rarely see shrimp sold with the heads on here 🙂 They look big and beautiful!
Jasline N. says
Hi Susan, after moving to Israel, it’s almost impossible to find shrimps with heads sold here too. How I wish I can make this recipe again soon!
Cindy says
Hi Jasline
Where did you get the saffron threads from?
Thank you! 🙂
Jasline N. says
Hi Cindy, sorry for the late reply! i got them from Fairprice Xtra in NTUC, under all the Masterfoods herbs/spices section. I think you should be able to get them from Cold Storage or other more high-end supermarkets, but they may be more pricey!
Marina Von says
Such a great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Daniela Grimburg says
Paella is one of my faves and this one looks and sounds amazing!
Mich PieceofCake says
This Paella sure looks good! I’m drooling!
Raymund says
That paella looks perfectly cooked! Love the flavours on that dish all you need is a good white wine to pair with it
Zoe says
Hi Jasline,
I can see that you are a MasterFood fan… LOL!
Nice that you have managed to find a sponsor to buy these expensive ingredients… This sounds reasonable to me. I bet everyone is a winner enjoying this meal 😀
Zoe