I love paella, it is the one thing I make quite often. If anyone is serious about it, it's really best to invest in a paella pan, it makes the whole process easier and less prone to error. They would traditionally use saffron to give it a yellow colour but it is expensive and doesn't add a lot to the taste so I cheat and use yellow colouring
This is the recipe I use, it is fairly flexible apart from the amount of liquid used per cup of rice and the not stirring part:
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts cut into small chunks
100g of chorizo, cut into small chunks
1 Large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 Large red pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
Olive Oil
2 cups of paella rice
5 cups of chicken stock (add some yellow food colouring to this)
1 tsp paprika
100g frozen peas
Uncooked prawns (optional)
Salt
Method
Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and add the onion, garlic, pepper, chorizo and chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned
Make a clearing in the middle of the pan, and add the chopped tomatoes and fry them until they look a little pasty
Quickly stir in the paprika then add the chicken broth to the pan (if you are using a paella pan, it should be enough to just cover the screws that hold the handles on)
Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes and season to taste with salt.
After the 20 minutes, add the peas, give it a quick stir then add the rice, distributing evenly over the pan and making sure it is all covered by liquid (DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE AT ALL AFTER THE RICE ADDITION)
Once most of the liquid has been absorbed (takes around 20-30 mins), lay the prawns, if using, on the surface of the rice and gently push them into the rice – this will help them to cook without shrinking them too much
Take the paella off the heat, and cover the pan with newspaper and leave to stand covered for 10 minutes then serve
Here is a pic of one I made, it is not long away from being ready at this stage:
G.