Chicken Paella (MasterChef)

Since young, I'm allergy to shellfish and prawns. For this reason, I have not tried cooking paella until now...

I am excited seeing this paella recipe in the kiddy version of MasterChef cookbook because there is only chicken used in this recipe. This recipe uses lovely legs which are drumsticks which have been skinned and part of the lower bone chopped off but I have replaced the lovely legs with skinless maryland. For my son. I have used more of the sweet Hungarian paprika and add the chilli flakes last for my husband's serve to reduce the heat of this dish. 

Not surprisingly at all, this is very flavoursome dish and look forward to cook more paelle in the future. As this recipe comes from a kiddy cookbook, we reckon that this recipe serves 4 young children but doesn't seem enough to feed 2 adults and 1 little child. Are we too hungry or too big in our appetite?

Junior MasterChef version of Chicken Paella

Making the tomato sauce

Cooking the chicken

Cooking the paella

Still cooking...

I can't wait to eat this serve of paella...

Here's the recipe from Junior MasterChef, Australia, Series 2 Cookbook
(with my modification in blue)

Serves: 4-6
(I think this amount is enough to serve 4-6 young children - LOL!)

1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
(increase to 3 tsp)
2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
(decrease to 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
(add last for only "daddy's" serve)
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 small red onion, quartered
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken 'lovely legs' 
(replaced with 5 small pieces of skinless maryland)
3 chicken drumettes
1 small red capsicum, cut into strips
150g green beans, trimmed, halved
150g arborio rice
1 (175g) chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock 
(required 1 1/2 cup to fully cook rice to tender stage)

Using a mortar and pestle, grind saffron threads until the strands are coarsely crushed. Add 1 tbsp hot water and leave for 10 min to infuse. Place the saffron and liquid, paprikas, chilli, half of the parsley, tomatoes, vinegar, garlic and onion in a blender or food processor. Add lemon juice, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and process until smooth.

Heat oil in a 30cm (base measurement) paella pan or large, deep heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 mins each side or until browned. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium, add capsicum and beans, and cook, stirring, for 5 min or until starting to soften. Add rice and chorizo and cook, stirring, for 1 min or until rice is opaque. Increase heat to high, add tomato mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 min or until bubbling and fragrant.

Stir in 200ml chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium until gently simmering. Place chicken pieces on rice in pan and cook, uncovered, for 55 min without stirring. Check to see if there is any liquid. If not, pour remaining stock around edge of pan. Cook for a further 5 min or until rice is just tender - it should still have a slight bite to it. Remove from heat, scatter with remaining 1 tbs parsley and stand for 5 min before serving straight from the pan.

Happy Cooking

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