I know what you must be thinking, there are a lot of dishes very similar to this one on my blog, but I so totally adore this kind of dish and I believe that you can never ever have to many recipes that have chorizo in them, its just so gorgeous, but please bare with me as I do have a truly legitimate reason for adding yet another chorizo dish to the list.
 
I’ll explain! A couple of weeks ago I announced on Facebook that I was making this dish for dinner and my gorgeous Mother-in-Law Juliet commented that my Father-in-Law Peter would love it. I duly promised to make it for him one day, but as they live in Tuscany and we don’t get to see them very often, I thought that I would add it to the blog so that Peter could make it anytime he wants.
 
Well I hope you enjoy it Peter and if you never get round to it, I’ll just have to make it for you next time you come back to Blighty.
 
(Above photo taken of Peter, Juliet and Olly, Easter 2010, in Tuscany)
 
Buon appetito
Serves 6
Olive oil (I know you must have plenty of this from your gorgeous olives Peter)
12 chicken thighs, on the bone with skin on
2 red peppers, sliced
100g chorizo, cut into small chunks
1 large onion , roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3tsp smoked paprika
1tsp dried chilli flakes
1.3 litres of chicken stock
375g of paella rice or calasparra
2tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
 
I must add here, that even though the original recipe doesn’t state this, I always add prawns to this dish, they go so amazingly well with the other ingredients and take on the oils that ooze from the chorizo so well. You can add or leave out what you heart desires, I’m pretty sure that it would work just as well with other seafood to make the dish more like a traditional paella. Experiment & enjoy. As always, a recipe is only ever a guide, adding your own flair and taste is always far more exciting.
 
Heat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/Gas4.
 
Heat 4tbsp oil in a paellla pan or a broad, shallow pan, season the chicken thighs and brown them in batches on all sides (you want to colour the chicken well, but don’t need to cook it through). Remove, then add the peppers and chorizo to the same pan and cook over a medium heat until the peppers soften.
 
Throw in the onions and garlic and cook gently until the onion is soft. Stir in the paprika and chilli and cook for a minute, stirring, then add the chicken stock. If you are adding prawns, I normally do this about now with the paprika and chilli, just so that they warm through with the spices but don’t become to over cooked and rubbery, then add the stock. put the chicken pieces back in the pan, bring the stock to a simmer, and cook, covered, over a gentle heat for 15 minutes. If you don’t have a lid for your paella pan, just cover with foil.
 
Pour the rice all round the chicken and season. Put in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, until all the stock has been absorbed and the top is golden. You don’t need to stir the rice or do anything with the dish as it cooks.
 
When cooked, remove from the oven and cover the dish with foil and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Scatter with parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice over the top before serving.