My husband is from Spain, so I started looking into paella recipes. It took me four times to get this brown rice paella right. Now it's his favorite dish, and he expects me to make it every week. I've tweaked this recipe to our tastes, as we like red peppers, capers, and black olives. The vinegar is a Spanish thing, so I always add it. You can leave a little broth in the paella or cook until the broth is fully absorbed — it's simply a matter of preference.
Ingredients
- salt: 2 tsp
- Spanish smoked paprika: 1 tsp
- red pepper: 1 tsp (optional)
- ground turmeric: 1 tsp (optional)
- saffron: 0.5 tsp
- extra-virgin olive oil: 2 Tbsp (to taste)
- boneless chicken thighs: 4 piece (cut into small pieces)
- Spanish chorizo: 0.5 pound (cut into 1/4 inch slices)
- onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- red bell pepper: 1 piece (chopped)
- parsley: 0.25 cup (chopped, optional)
- garlic: 6 clove (chopped)
- short-grain brown rice: 2 cups
- tomato: 1 piece (chopped)
- roasted red peppers: 1 jar (6 ounce jar, chopped)
- carton chicken broth: 1 piece (32 ounce)
- frozen peas and carrots: 2 cups (thawed)
- black olives: 2 Tbsp (sliced)
- capers: 1 Tbsp
- apple cider vinegar: 1 tsp (to taste, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Combine salt, paprika, red pepper, turmeric, and saffron in a small bowl. Set aside.
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Heat olive oil in a paella pan or large pot over medium heat. Add chicken and chorizo and cook until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to a platter. Add onion, bell pepper, parsley, and garlic to the pot; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add rice, tomato, and roasted red peppers; cook until rice begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add spice mixture and broth, then return chicken and chorizo to the pot, burying them in the paella.
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Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring every 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 50 to 55 minutes. Stir in thawed peas and carrots, olives, capers, and apple cider vinegar; cook until everything is heated through, 3 to 5 more minutes.
