Chicken Paella inspired by my best friend Ange. Ange and I were first friends when we came to Canada and have been through it all together for the last 22-23 years of friendship. I am so happy that we reached a new stage in our friendship which is our love for food and sharing recipes. She messaged me this weekend showing me a picture of her “Paella” and I told her I need the recipe immediately. I took her recipe and improvised a bit but all the flavours are still there. This is not a traditional Paella, it’s just our take on it. You will need:
Chicken “Paella”
Chicken “Paella” inspired by my best friend Ange. Ange and I were first friends when we came to Canada and have been through it all together for the last 22-23 years of friendship. I am so happy that we reached a new stage in our friendship which is our love for food and sharing recipes. She messaged me this weekend showing me a picture of her “Paella” and I told her I need the recipe immediately. I took her recipe and improvised a bit but all the flavours are still there. This is not a traditional Paella, it’s just our take on it. You will need:
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons avocado oil — or any
- 4 cubed skinless boneless chicken breasts that were seasoned in salt and pepper — or 6 skinless boneless thighs
- 1 finely diced onion
- 1 finely diced red bell pepper
- 6 minced garlic cloves
- 3/4-1 tablespoon paprika
- additional salt to taste
- 1.5 cups jasmine rice — or any
- 1.5 cups plain tomato sauce — or crushed can of tomatoes
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth — or chicken broth
- pinch of saffron is optional
- parsley/green onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a big pan on the stove on medium high heat, heat up the oil of choice. Add the cubed and seasoned chicken pieces and sear on each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until light golden.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté for about a minute and add a tiny splash of broth just to loosen that flavor. Add paprika and salt to taste and stir.
- Add the rice and stir, the tomato sauce and stir again, and add your semi-cooked chicken breast cubes back in. Now top it off with the vegetable broth and stir again.
- Pinch of saffron is optional, let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover it and let it go for 25 minutes or until the rice is soft and most of the liquid has absorbed. Garnish, let it rest for 5-10 minutes and enjoy.
Notes
I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs but totally up to you. Jasmine and long grain rice is my preference but you can add any.
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