Arroz con pollo (Spanish rice with chicken) recipe

The paella started life as arroz a la Valenciana, but became known, as the dish spread around Spain, as paella Valenciana because of the large, shallow dish – the paella – in which it cooks. But paellas are part of a whole group of Spanish rice dishes called arroces secos, some are referred to as paellas, and some simply as arroces.

This arroz dish is based on a Spanish recipe I began to cook about 25 years ago, but I’ve added chorizo.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 35 minutes

SERVES

Six

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil

• 12 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in

• 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped

• 250g chorizo, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 3 tsp smoked paprika

• 1.3 llitres chicken stock

• 375g paella rice

• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

• juice of ½ large lemon

• extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4.

2. Heat the olive oil in a 30cm ovenproof shallow saucepan, paella pan or sauté pan. Season the chicken thighs and brown them all over, working in batches. You only want to colour the chicken, not cook it through. Set aside.

3. Add the peppers, onion and chorizo, and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic, chilli and smoked paprika, and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the stock and bring it to a simmer, then put the chicken back in.

4. Simmer, covered, over a gentle heat for 15 minutes.

5. Pour in the rice around the chicken and season well. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, until all the stock has been absorbed, the grains are tender and the chicken is golden.

6. Scatter with parsley, squeeze the lemon over the top and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.