Recipe: Elevated perfect paella

One of our all-time favourite vacation recipes is paella, which is why it’s another of our flavours of staycation recipes – so it can be enjoyed as much at home as it is in the Spanish sun.

Here then is our healthier, more Elevated version of the Spanish classic. Key is to use a short-grain, paella-specific rice if you can find one. Bomba is the classic paella rice, so-called as the grains swell into little bomb shapes as they absorb the cooking liquid.

In our case that’s our nutrition-packed Bone Marrow Broth and Tomato Fondue Brilliant Bases. We’re also packing the recipe with loads of colourful veggies for a full range of plant-based nutrients and adding chicken breast, omega-3 rich prawns and chorizo for a healthy dose of protein.

It’s worth noting that while the recipe here serves two, the portions are super generous and there will be more than enough left over for seconds or tomorrow’s lunch. You can, of course, double and triple the amounts to cook for larger parties.

1. Dice down all your vegetables and slice the chorizo
2. Heat a solid-bottomed open pan over a medium flame
3. Add the olive oil and, when hot, add the chicken thighs skin side down to seal off and colour up until golden brown
4. Flip over after 4-5 minutes to seal the flesh side, cook for another 4-5 minutes
5. Add the diced vegetables and chorizo sausage and cook out until reduced by half in volume, gently stirring so as not to stick
6. Add the spices, diced red chillies, smoked paprika, turmeric and crushed garlic
7. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the rice and turn over to mix and coat
8. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, then add the Tomato Fondue and the Bone Marrow Broth
9. Stir to distribute and ensue the rice is submerged, add the rosemary and bay leaf, bring to a gentle simmer and cover with a paper cartouche or butter wraps to retain the heat and liquid
10. Allow to simmer gently for circa 20 minutes, DO NOT stir, the rice will cook out and absorb the flavours and nutrients
11. When the rice becomes just al dente, add the fine green beans and prawns, recovering with the paper cartouche to poach for a further 8-10 minutes
12. The chicken thighs will have braised and cooked through but use a thermometer to ensure they have gone past 75C/170F to be food safe
13. The beans should still be crip and the prawns cooked to pink in colour with the rice becoming slightly sticky to the base, yet fluffy
14. Taste the rice base and adjust for seasoning black pepper and sea salt crystals
15. Serve in the pan and enjoy