I love meals that can be prepared in one pot. Besides the added attraction of very little to clean up, the idea of one large pot in the centre of the table filled with the freshest ingredients that have been carefully chosen and cooked, ticks all the boxes of a deliciously satisfying meal shared with my closest friends.
The most well-known one-pot meals that spring to mind are Hungarian goulash, the glorious French cassoulet, and of course who can deny the simple pleasure of a heart-warming cottage pie. All would have me chomping at the bit, but in keeping with this month’s seaside theme, I’ve whipped up a seafood paella with chorizo – I don’t think there’s a better dish to showcase all the wonderful flavours that can be coaxed out of the ocean. For a good selection of seafood try Barthos.
SEAFOOD PAELLA WITH CHORIZO
2 litres organic chicken stock, steaming hot but not boiling
olive oil
100g chorizo, sliced
6 slices pancetta or streaky bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large pinches saffron (try Gorimas and ask for the Iranian stuff)
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
500g short grain white rice, arborio or similar
2 handfuls fresh or frozen peas
10 king prawns, in the shell, cleaned and deveined
500g mussels, ask for the local half-shell ones
200g Falklands squid with tentacles, cleaned
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stalks chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Pop a pot on to the stove top and pour in your stock. Heat, but do not boil as you don’t want it reducing. In a large pan, wok, or paella (the dish is named after the pan) add a little olive oil and brown the chorizo and pancetta releasing all those beautiful flavours. Once browned add the onion, red pepper and garlic, turning down the heat as you only want to soften them, not brown them.
Pour half the stock into a separate bowl, add the saffron and leave to infuse, stirring gently. Once infused, add the saffron stock, paprika and rice to the pan, stirring gently. Leave to cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Do not over-stir. After about 20 minutes the rice should be almost cooked. Add the remaining stock, peas and all the seafood together with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Once cooked, place the pot on a board in the centre of the table and serve with a squeeze of lemon and a glass of De Wetshof Limestone Hill (unwooded) Chardonnay. *