Chicken Paella

Paella is one of the easiest meals to cook, it just needs a little patience. It is also a great way of making use of odds and ends you have in the fridge that needs using up.

This is a step by step Chicken Paella.....with a bit of a difference!
Similar to other Paella dishes we have done, so hope you like this little twist!

Ingredients

1 litre Chicken Stock (use Knorr cube) and a good pinch of salt

2 Diced Chicken Breasts

1 onion Sliced

1/2 Red pepper chopped

200 grams Green Beans

200ml (approx) Passata

5 Garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 Tin Baked Beans

Olive Oil Flavoured Fry Light

2 tsp Sweet Paprika

1 sachet Paella Spices, or pinch of saffron, or Paella food colouring.

Method:

At least 2 hours before, marinade the diced chicken breast in the sweet paprika and a generous few squirts of olive oil fry light. Mix well, cover, and store in fridge until needed.

Make up the Chicken stock by dissolving one Knorr stock cube in about 300 ml hot water. If you are using saffron or paella colouring, you can add that to the stock. Add a good pinch of salt as well and set aside.

1. In a suitable pan, add plenty of olive oil fry light, warm through and then add the onion, pepper, green beans, and stir until the vegetables start to soften.

2. Make a well in the middle and add the chicken, and then cook so that the outside of the chicken start to go white. Don't overcook it at this stage.

3. Add the paella spices if you have them, stir into the ingredients.

4. Add the passata, garlic, baked beans and stir well, cook until the liquid reduces and starts to thicken. Again, don't over cook it at this stage, you just want it to start to thicken up a little.

5. Next, add the rice, stir in well and leave to cook in the liquid so that the rice soaks up a little of the flavours in the pan. You should start to hear the rice crackling on the bottom of the pan, that is the time to add the stock.

6. Add the chicken stock, making it up to 1 litre total liquid and stir the mix thoroughly so that all the ingredients are well immersed. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low setting to simmer.

Continue cooking until the paella reaches a consistency you prefer.

Paella is one of those meals you can almost just put together with whatever you have. Any vegetables can be used, and also any meat (or fish for that matter). 

I never get bored doing Paella, and will post regular variations on here for those of you who want to have a go at these dishes!