Big Badass Paella

It's kind of a tradition in my family to make copious amounts of food. We're always having get togethers and throwing various parties and, of course, food is usually at the centre. I don't know whether I inherited this from my grandma who ALWAYS puts out enough food to feed everyone. Twice. With leftovers. But when I'm catering for a crowd I always seem to go large.

And so when I recently cooked a paella for a family get together it became a monster! Nevertheless it still tasted divine and there were only minimal leftovers, meaning it went down really well. This paella is packed full of Spanish flavours; hot yet sweet paprika, luxurious earthy saffron, soft, creamy rice and of course the familiar taste of juicy chicken.

The recipe I have posted here is a much smaller version of what I actually made. It will serve 6-8 people but of course can be halved to serve a family of 4. Also note that I have added prawns to the ingredients as an optional addition - I would have used them in mine but my mum has a severe seafood allergy.

Big Badass Paella
Serves 6-8

170g chorizo, cut into thin slices
110g pancetta, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp soft thyme leaves
¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes
570g “paella rice” (bomba or calasparra)
1 tsp paprika
125ml dry white wine
1.2 litres chicken stock, heated with ¼ tsp saffron strands
4 chicken breast, cut into large chunks
110g fresh or frozen peas
4 large tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
125ml good olive oil
For the topping:
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
12 jumbo raw prawns, in shells (optional)
5 tbsp/generous handful chopped flatleaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat half of the olive oil in a paella dish or large heavy-based frying pan. Add the chorizo and pancetta and fry until crisp. Add the garlic, onion and pepper and fry until softened. Add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes. Then add the thyme, chilli flakes and paella rice, and stir until all the grains of rice are nicely coated and glossy. Now add the paprika and dry white wine and when it is bubbling, pour in the hot chicken stock and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Sprinkle in the peas and chopped tomatoes and continue to cook gently for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for the topping, heat the remaining oil with the garlic cloves in a separate pan and add the prawns (if using). Fry quickly for a minute or two then add them to the paella. Scatter the chopped parsley over the paella and serve immediately.