Sunshine Paella - A beautiful Spansh dish which is full of flavour and perfect for a sunny day

 

Portion size	6 - 8	40 - 60	90 - 120
Chicken stock	1.2 lites	8.4 lites	18 litres
Saffron strands	1/4 teaspoon	1 3/4 tea spoon	3 3/4 teaspoon
Olive oil	To cover base of pan	To cover base of pan	To cover base of pan
Chicken thighs, skinned and de-boned and chopped into bite sized pieces	8	56	120
Spanish Chorozo cut into small chunks	170g	1190g	2550g
Pancetta, diced	110g	770g	1650g
Cloves of garlic, finely chopped	2 cloves	14 cloves	30 cloves
Large onion, finely diced	1	7	15
Red pepper, diced	1	7	15
Soft Thyme leaves	1 teaspoon	7 teaspoons	15 teaspoons
Spanish Paella Rice	570ml/ 1 Pint*	3990ml/ 7 Pint*	8550ml/ 15 Pint*
Smoked Paprika	1 teaspoon	7 teaspoons	15 teaspoons
Dry White Wine	125ml	875ml	1875ml
Peas (Fresh or Frozen)	110g	770g	1650g
Tomatoes, diced	4	28	60
Raw Prawns	12	84	180
Salt and freshly ground black pepper	To taste	To taste	To taste
Chopped Parsley	5 table spoons	35 table spoons	75 table spoons
Lemons, cut into wedges	0.5	4	8

* As a rule of thumb we have found that 570ml/ 1 pint of rice weighs 462g.

Cooking Time
We strongly recommend that all ingredients are prepared, chopped etc before you begin cooking the Paella.  This makes the cooking process fairly easy and stress free and allows the chef to enjoy the party and cooking process at the same time.  Based on all the prep being done before hand, the Paella will take approximately 1 hour from start to finish.

Method

1. Prepare the hot chicken stock and add the saffron strands.  You will need this ready to add to the Paella later during the cooking process and it is easier to have it ready prepared.  Good quality stock cubes are fine.  The saffron strands should be added to the hot liquid stock and left to infuse.

HINT: It is a good idea to make up some extra stock to have on hand which can be added to the Paella should it begin to look too dry.

2. Pour enough olive oil into the Paella pan to cover the base.  Heat and add the chicken thighs.  Cook the chicken thighs until brown, turning frequently.  Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside. USE A CLEAN DISH FOR THE COOKED THIGHS- DO NOT PUT THEM BACK IN THE CONTAINER WHICH HELD THE RAW MEAT.

3. Add the chorizo and pancetta to the pan and fry until crisp.

4. Add the garlic, onion and peppers and cook until soft.

5. Add the thyme and the paella rice.  Stir well until all the grains of rice are nicely coated and glossy.

6. Add the paprika and dry white wine and when it is bubbling, pour in the hot chicken stock.  Take care and add the stock very slowly to avoid getting splashed with hot liquid.

7. Add the browned chicken thighs and make sure all ingredients are nicely distributed across the pan.  After this point you should not stir the Paella. Instead you should shake the pan gently from side to side to stop it sticking to the bottom.  The handles of the pan will be VERY HOT ! and oven gloves must be worn. Cook for 10 minutes.

8. Sprinkle the peas and the chopped tomatoes evenly over the top of the Paella and cook gently for 5 minutes.

NOTE:  The finished Paella should not be wet in consistency and the rice should have absorbed all of the cooking liquid, however, if the dish starts to look very dry before cooking is complete and the rice is still quite hard, a little extra stock can be added.

9. Arrange the raw prawns on top of the Paella.  Cook for a further 5 minutes, turning the prawns half way through to ensure they cook on both sides.

10. Taste the rice.  It should be soft, but not mushy.  If the rice is still hard, cook a little longer.

11. Turn off the heat.  Carefully (the pan will be extremely hot) cover the Paella pan with tin foil (In Spain, newspaper would be used) and leave for 5- 10 minutes.  This will allow the rice to adsorb the remaining water and the tomatoes to finish cooking.

12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

13. Scatter the chopped parsley over the Paella, decorate with lemon wedges and serve immediately.