Fish free paella

joolsveer

Has anyone got a good recipe for paella that does not contain fish or shellfish? I would love to try this out for the wife and daughter. They love fish and I hate it (back from the time we used have it every Friday and Wednesday at home). I bought paella rice and chorizo in Aldi as they are have a Spanish day.

duploelabs

Traditionally Paella never has fish or shellfish in it. It started up as a rural peasants dish with rabbit, chicken, and any veggies that could be found thrown in

Miaireland

Paella
30 ml olive oil
7 g paprika
3 g dried oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
910 g skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces

30 ml olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 g crushed red pepper flakes
400 g uncooked short-grain white rice
1 g saffron threads
1 bay leaf
0.5 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
945 ml chicken stock
2 lemons, zested

30 ml olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
455 g chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate frying pan over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes.
Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat mixture

joolsveer

Thanks for the info. Going to try it over the weekend.

The Sweeper

I use a slightly different recipe (adjustable to what's in the fridge).

My approach is more like that of a risotto or pilaf .

Soften an onion and some garlic in a large, flat pan.

Add some chopped chicken and seal. At this point I would flavour with spices - paprika, salt and pepper, I use a little turmeric (cheaper than saffron but I also like the flavour it imparts), a touch of oregano (not much though). Now I add some of the vegetables - I like to use chopped capsicum/peppers - red and green. I'll also had some sweetcorn and some peas, but I add them from frozen and throw them in about 5 minutes before cooking is done.

To the chicken, spice, onion, garlic and peppers, I add the chopped chorizo - good chorizo will add its own colour to the mixture. Then add rice - I like to use a short-grain or arborio rice. Mix until the rice is fully coated with the oils and spices and mixed in with the meat.

Now I add stock - chicken stock. Cover until the rice is just visible poking through the surface of the liquid. Allow to simmer until the stock is mostly absorbed; taste for seasoning and whether the rice is cooked - at this point it probably will not be and you'll need to season, add the frozen vegs and another round of stock - probably half the volume you added the first time, just to allow the rice to cook out.

If I were adding fish, it would go in at this 'second stock' stage as well. I find fish cooks best if you sit in on the top of the pan and just allow the heat to turn it from transparent to translucent, then stir it through the dish just before serving. It'll keep its shape and won't overcook.