Chicken Chorizo Seafood Paella

Are you looking for a delicious and addictive dish that you, will keep on going for seconds? This chicken and seafood paella with chorizo is what you are looking for!

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish from Valencia. It is a rice dish that can have meat, fish, seafood, and vegetables and is well known for its use of saffron to give the yellow color and unique flavor to the rice.

One of the things I enjoy most about paella is the variety of the dish. From the same base rice dish recipe, you can make so many delicious variations including, seafood, meat or vegetarian.

Chicken & Chorizo Paella Recipe

Vegetables: I use onion, garlic, red bell peppers, fresh tomatoes and frozen peas to finish in the recipe. I’ve seen a lot of variations for the tomatoes and I enjoy the fresh tomatoes most.

Liquid: You can use any type of broth. The most convenient one is a chicken broth, but if you can get your hands on a seafood broth whether commercial or homemade, that will enhance the taste of the sea for your paella.

Seasoning: The key here is the saffron! I use a combination of powdered and thread saffron. You can do with only powdered saffron which is more affordable. This spice can be pretty expensive!

Easy Chicken, Chorizo And Shrimp Paella

Meats: I use a combination of seafood (mussels and tiger shrimps), chicken thighs (thighs are best to cook longer without drying out) and sliced chorizo sausage.

The first steps are to build your layers of flavor with your vegetables and your broth prior to adding the rice. This is relatively straightforward and the key to not overcook everything is to cook your ingredients in steps:

Now the fun part starts, you need to add your rice. Distribute it evenly throughout the place and shake the pan so it gets to the bottom of the pan properly. Once your rice is in, avoid mixing the content of the paella and let the rice cook on its own.

Specially Selected King Prawn, Chicken & Chorizo Paella 800g

Traditionally, the seafood is cooked directly with the rice as it cooks. Although this method works fine, you risk of overcooking your seafood. I mix the approach where I let the seafood cook on top of the paella by putting the mussels and shrimp on top of the plate as the rice cooks, but remove it and set it aside until the rice is fully cooked.

This approach is handy as well if you want more seafood than what fits on top of rice dish. You have time while the rice cooks to add a second layer of mussels for instance!

When you rice is almost cooked through, you should have most if not all of your liquid absorbed and you have to create your socarrat (optional but highly recommended). Turn the heat up to med-high for around a minute. This will help create your crunchy rice crust at the bottom of your pan.

Chorizo And Seafood Paella

After this crucial step, take your pan of the heat and cover with aluminum foil and a dish towel on top to rest for 5-7 minutes.

This dish is a meal in itself! The best way to complement the dish is with fresh chopped parsley and lots of lemon juice. We usually cut lemon wedges and let people season to their liking. Lemon with seafood and chicken is a match in heaven so don’t be shy!

Please let me know how you like this chicken and seafood paella in the comments below! Would love to know if you managed to have leftovers or not!

Paella Seafood & Chicken ~1,4kg Pork Chorizo Sausage Saffran For 2 3 Persons Ready To Reheat

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read MoreNothing gets the party started quite like a big pan of Paella! The flavours are big and bold and its the perfect dish to share.

My Chicken, Chorizo + Seafood Paella is a dish that is so easy to make, but always ensures loads of amazed dinners and lots of compliments.

Paella Valenciana With Chicken, Chorizo And Shrimp!

In typically male fashion, once all the ingredients are in the pan, that’s it! It;s rarely stirred, in fact the sign of a good paella is a bit of crust on the bottom, so fear not if you have a few charred bits on the bottom, they even taste great and add a bit of texture.

Paella is such a fun dish to make for a dinner party – so grab a few mates, make a jug of sangria, pop some Gypsy King on and its Paella time baby!

I love combining all these different proteins as the flavours work so well together infusing into the rice and stock creating the most amazing flavour.

Shrimp And Chorizo Paella Recipe

Choosing the right chorizo is really important. Try to get fresh pork chorizos from your butcher for the best flavour and texture. Typically, these sausages are flavoured with garlic and paprika which imparts a sweet and smoky flavour that is totally characteristic of these Spanish sausages.

If you can’t get your hands on fresh chorizo then the next best option is the cured chorizo that is air dried like salami and can be eaten raw, simply sliced. This will alter the texture of the dish, but you should still be able to get the same flavours.

I like to use chicken thighs as breasts tend to dry out and as for the seafood often opt for a mix of squid tubes, mussels and prawns.

Chorizo Paella With Shrimp And Chicken

Simply shell and devein your prawns, leaving the tails on, and clean your squid tubes, slice them open, score and then dice them up, which causes them to curl up beautifully when cooked.

The mussels just require a scrub if there are any beards or dirt on them, and will steam open when place into the dish.

For the rice – look for Calasparra Rice a unique short grain rice grown in the mountains of the Spanish province of Murcia.

Easy Chicken And Chorizo Paella Recipe

Calasparra rice matures for 30% longer developing it’s remarkable flavour and texture. This rice absorbs 3 times its weight in stock, delivering the depth of flavour.

If you struggle to find Calasparra, you can substitute with Arborio risotto rice which is a close second, but don’t tell the Spaniards I said that!

Sweet or spicy Spanish smoked paprika makes this dish. There is no salt, pepper or any other seasoning that goes into this recipe. The characteristic pimento is made from handpicked pepper that are smoked over smouldering oak wood fires.

Paella With Seafood, Chicken, And Chorizo Recipe

Produced for over 135 years by Pimenton El Angel in the Estremadura region of Spain there is no substituting the unique and amazing aromatic and smoky flavour.

For all your Spanish and Latin American grocery needs I recommend checking out Hispanic Pantry located in Melbourne, they ship Australia wide.

A traditional paella pan is a great investment if you plan to make paella even twice a year. It is such a unique piece of cooking equipment, with a thin base that ensures the food cooks through quick.

The Ultimate Easy Spanish Paella Recipe

Look for an enamel coated black pan as I find they are the best for easy maintenance. Most of them are oven safe and suitable for gas and electric stove tops, as well as BBQ’s.

Depending on your how strong your flame is if gas, its best to use a diffuser to ensure the heat is evenly distributed across the circumference of the large based pan.

If you don’t have a paella pan, a medium to large sauté pan or cast-iron pan could be used in its place. Don’t opt for non-stick in this case.

Chicken, Chorizo & Seafood Paella Recipe

Ideally, pop the pan in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves. It is a real sharing dish and best for people to get involved picking and choosing what bits they would like.

Its also a great dish to have on the go at a party while you kick things off with some Spanish entrees like white anchovies and stuffed olives or Patatas Bravas.

You want to ensure the mussels are placed with the part of the shell that opens on the top so it can fully open as it cooks.

Chorizo And Prawn Paella On The Barbecue Recipe

If you find they aren’t opening up, either place a lid on if you have one that is large enough, or cover with tin foil and allow it to steam for up to 10 minutes.