Chicken & Pepper Paella

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 300 g arborio rice
• 2 red peppers
• 1 brown onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tomatoes (250 g)
• 150 g frozen peas
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 chicken stock cubes dissolved in 900 ml hot water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan or wide sauté pan (at least 28 cm)
• Coarse grater
• Bowl
• Cutting board and knife
• Wooden spoon
• Clean tea towel

📖 Steps

1. Cut the chicken into 3 cm pieces and season with salt and pepper. Deseed the peppers and cut them into 1 cm strips. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Halve the tomatoes and grate them into a bowl on the coarse side of the grater to make a pulp; discard the skins.
2. Dissolve the stock cubes in the 900 ml hot water. Heat the olive oil in the large pan over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning it, until nicely coloured. Set aside on a plate.
3. In the same pan, over a medium heat, fry the onion and peppers for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomato pulp and let it reduce for 3 to 4 minutes until you have a thick sauce.
4. Add the smoked paprika and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds, then add the rice and stir for 1 minute to coat it well in the sauce. Return the chicken and its juices to the pan.
5. Pour in all the hot stock, taste and add salt if needed, then spread the rice out flat across the bottom of the pan. Bring to the boil. From this point on, don't stir: that's the secret of a real paella, which shouldn't turn creamy like a risotto.
6. Cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat, then scatter the peas over the top and turn the heat down to low. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender. If the rice is still hard but the pan is already dry, sprinkle over a few spoonfuls of hot water.
7. For the golden crust (the “socarrat”), turn the heat up to high for 1 to 2 minutes: the bottom should crackle gently and smell toasty, without smoking. Take off the heat straight away.
8. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Serve straight from the pan with the lemon cut into wedges, to squeeze over each portion.