Paella Crowd Pleaser

Once it was considered unusual but today, Paella is a favourite one-dish meal. Simple to assemble, Paella serves as both an entertaining meal and family fare.

Serves: 8

Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 50 min

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. (25 mL) canola oil
  • 6 chicken drumsticks, skinned
  • 10 oz. (284 mL) can Money’s Mushrooms, sliced, drained
  • 6 oz. (185 g) cured sausages, such as chorizo or kolbassa, sliced
  • ½ large onion, diced
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 28 oz. (796 mL) can tomatoes, including juices
  • 3 cups (750 mL) chicken stock
  • 2 tsp. (10 mL) saffron threads, crushed
  • 2 tsp. (10 mL) dried leaf thyme
  • ½ tsp. (2 mL) crushed red chilies
  • 2 cups (500 mL) short grain rice, rinsed and drained
  • 4 to 4½ cups (1 to 1.125 L) chicken stock
  • 1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas, thawed
  • 2 cups (500 mL) cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 large prawns, tails on, peeled and deveined
  • ½ cup (125 mL) pimento-stuffed olives, sliced
  • Lemon wedges

Instructions:

  1. For ease of preparation, have all ingredients sliced and measured before starting to cook.
  2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken, several pieces at a time, and sauté until golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to the plate containing chicken. Add sliced sausage and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove.
  4. Add a little more oil to the saucepan if needed and sauté diced onion and garlic until soft. Stir in tomatoes, stock, and seasonings. Break up tomatoes with a fork. Bring to a boil. Return mushrooms and sausage to the pan. Fold in rice until evenly mixed.
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Transfer the mixture to a 4L Dutch oven or casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid or to a paella pan. Nestle chicken pieces into the rice mixture. Cover with a lid or tightly seal with a heavy sheet of foil and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked.
  6. Remove cover and gently fold in peas and cherry tomatoes. If rice appears too dry, add a little more hot stock. Nestle prawns into the rice mixture and continue to bake, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or until prawns are tender and peas are piping hot.
  7. Garnish paella with sliced olives scattered over the top and wedges of lemon.

Nutritional Information:

  • Calories: 471, Protein: 25 g, Total Fat: 17 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 57 mg, Carbohydrates: 53 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sodium: 1494 mg
Money's Paella