Paella

Directions

1. 1
   Heat up the stock or dissolve the cube in boiling water; add the saffron and stir.
2. 2
   Chop each chicken thigh and breast into 4 or 5 pieces and season them with salt and pepper.
3. 3
   Heat up the oil in the largest pan you have (25cm will be good) and brown the chicken pieces on all sides.
4. 4
   Push them to the sides and add the onion and garlic into the middle of the pan.
5. 5
   Fry it hard for a couple of minutes, then stir in the tomato puree, keeping it away from the chicken.
6. 6
   Add the red pepper; fry it together with the onion and garlic for a minute.
7. 7
   Turn down the heat a little and mix the chicken pieces in. Sprinkle over the smoked paprika and add the chorizo pieces.
8. 8
   Pour the stock into the pan, all at once and turn up the heat. Let it bubble vigorously for two-three minutes.
9. 9
   Sprinkle the rice evenly over the surface of the stock - DO NOT STIR from now on.
10. 10
    Cook it for 10 minutes until the rice appears through the liquid. Gently displace any dry grains sticking to the chicken but DO NOT STIR. If it looks too dry too soon, add the white wine.
11. 11
    Sprinkle the peas over the surface and arrange the prawns on top.
12. 12
    Turn the heat down and simmer the paella for 10 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the liquid; you may cover the pan at this stage so the prawns cook through. If you don't have a lid to fit the pan, cover it with a large baking sheet.
13. 13
    After the 10 minutes turn the heat right up for 1 minute until you can hear the rice start to pop and crackle. Keep it on for 30 seconds and take the pan off the heat.
14. 14
    Cover it with a clean dry tea towel to absorb the steam, keep it like that for 10 minutes and serve in the pan placed in the middle of the table.
15. 15
    If you're lucky, the mixture has stuck to the bottom of the pan; crispy and almost-burnt. This is socarrat, a characteristic of good paella. Well done - the socarrat is truly scrumptious.