When you speak of ‘a Spanish rice recipe’ you automatically think of paella (pronounced: pa-el-ja).

This is a recipe for paella that originates from Spain. In the early seventies, when the rest of the world had not yet discovered the country and its beaches, my parents took us children for more than one holiday there. We stayed in a little village and in the neighborhood was a farm. The people living there became friends and it is from Mari-Luz that we have this recipe. It’s easy, but when you are cooking you need some time.

Every time we now prepare this special recipe, it brings back fond memories of times spent with friends and family. Paella is ideal when you want dinner with everyone seated around one big table. Put the pot in the middle and enjoy!

The ingredients (6 persons)

• 125 deciliter dry white wine
• 1 deciliter saffron
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 6 parts of chicken without bone or skin, cut into thick slices
• 300 g chorizo, cut in slices of 1 cm
• 2 big onions, cut into cubes
• 2 red peppers, cut into cubes
• 200 g frozen peas
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
• a sniff of salt
• some black pepper
• 350 g baking rice
• 7,5 deciliter bouillon of chicken
• 24 big shrimps(cut out the bowel canal)
• 24 mussels
• 12 of any variety of shell fish
• a big pan (you can also use a wok)

How to go ahead

Put the saffron in a little bowl and pout the wine over it. Stir for a little wine, and leave it aside while you prepare the paella.

Heat the olive oil in a big and broad pan (minimum 30 cm broad and 8 cm deep) over a rather large flame.

Once the oil is heated, add the chicken parts and the slices of chorizo. Let them bake for approximately eight minutes, until the chicken is colored on all sides.

Remove the chicken and chorizo out of the pan, with a spatula.

Now put the onion, red pepper and eventually the cayenne pepper in the pan and bring them to taste with pepper and salt. Fruit the vegetables for about six minutes. Stir now and then and wait until the veggies are soft.

Once the vegetables are soft enough, add the rice and let it boil for circa two minutes. Pour the mixture of saffron and wine over it. Then add the chicken and the chorizo and mix with the rice.

Pour the bouillon of chicken over the mixture and bring it to boil. Season once more with salt and pepper.

Let it boil until the bouillon comes to the same level as the rice. Then spread the shrimp, mussels and any other shell fish over the rice and mix them through. Lower the fire. Cover up the pan and let the mixture boil for another fifteen minutes. All the bouillon should be gone before the rice is ready.

At the end, stir the frozen peas under the paella, and serve.