Description
Chicken and Chorizo Paella is completely loaded with flavor! This Spanish Paella makes the perfect weeknight meal because it's ready in 40 minutes and it's made all in one pot.
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4), trimmed
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 8 ounces mild ground chorizo
- 1/2 cup sweet yellow onions, diced fine
- 1 green bell pepper, stems and seeds removed and cut into thin strips
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus additional for seasoning chicken
- 5 to 6 strands of saffron, broken into smaller pieces
- 1 and 1/4 cups Arborio rice (or Bomba or Valencia)
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 1/4 frozen peas
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges for serving
Instructions
- Trim the chicken thighs and pat dry with paper towels. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Heat a dutch oven on medium heat and add in olive oil. Allow it to heat up, then add in the chicken thighs. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the dutch oven and place onto a plate. Note: The chicken won't be cooked entirely, and will cook fully in the pot.
- Add the chorizo to the empty dutch oven with only brown bits of chicken remaining. Break the chorizo up with a wooden spoon and cook for 2 minutes.Into the Chorizo filled pot, add in onions, peppers, salt and pepper and saffron. Stir well, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Open the lid and stir in garlic and rice. Allow it to toast for about 1 minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock and place the chicken back into the pot, nestling it down into the rice, where it is mostly covered by liquid.
- Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes and do not peak or remove cover.
- Uncover and check that the internal temperature of chicken has reached at least 165 degrees. Stir in fresh parsley and peas. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. *If the chicken wasn't cooked to 165, be sure to check it again after cooking for the 5 minutes. Optional: If you are looking for a crunchy bottom (Socarrat), you can cook for additional 5 minutes and turn the heat up to medium high. Do not cover during this process.
- Top with lemon wedges and serve!
Notes
- When preparing the saffron, take a few strands and rub them between your index finger and thumb. It will turn your fingers a little yellow, but it breaks the strands apart perfectly.
- It's really important to trim the chicken thighs up well. Cut the really fatty portions off and discard. You can see in the ingredient photo above, that the chicken thighs are nice and trimmed.
- Don't use the wrong rice for this recipe or it will not turn out good.
- Part of the Paella cooking process, is NOT stirring frequently. During the 15 minutes of cooking before adding the peas, leave the dish covered and do not open or stir. You've got to trust the process.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Spanish