Inspired by oven-cook risottos, I give you this oven-cooked paella . No stirring, just beautifully cooked saffron rice, rich with chorizo, chicken and garlic. While it’s celebratory enough to serve to friends, I’d happily eat leftovers for the rest of the week’s lunches or dinners – the flavour only improves overnight in the fridge.
Prep
10 min
Cook
85 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
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Ingredients
red onion 1 (chopped)
chorizo 150 g (sliced)
saffron pinch
paella rice 250 g
lemon 2
chicken thighs 4
bell pepper 2 (sliced)
garlic cloves 2 (grated)
chicken stock cube 1
flat leaf parsley to taste (chopped)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Chop the red onion and bell peppers. Peel and grate the garlic cloves. Slice the chorizo.
Tip the red onion, peppers, garlic, chicken thighs, chorizo and a dash of oil into a roasting tin or a flat lidded casserole dish large enough to hold everything in roughly one layer (it’s OK if there’s a bit of overlap). Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, pop the saffron strands into a mug with a couple of tablespoons of boiling water, and set aside. Make up the chicken stock cube with 150ml boiling water per serving.
After 25 minutes remove the tin from the oven and stir through the paella rice, chicken stock and steeped saffron along with the saffron water. Cover tightly with foil or the lid (this is important so the rice cooks), then return the dish to the oven at 160°C fan/180°C/gas 4 for a further hour, until the rice is cooked through.
Once the paella is cooked, add a dash more hot chicken stock or boiling water to adjust the texture as you wish. Juice half the lemon and cut the rest into wedges. Season to taste with lemon juice and adjust the salt as needed.
Serve hot, scattered with chopped parsley and lemon wedges alongside and enjoy!
