Spanish Chicken & Chorizo Paella

• 600 g Chicken Thighs, Boneless Skinless, Raw, cut into large chunks
• 150 g Spanish Chorizo, sliced into coins
• 350 g Short Grain White Rice, paella or bomba rice if you can get it
• 900 ml Chicken Bone Broth, kept hot
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 4 clove Garlic, sliced
• 2 medium Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 150 g Green Peas, Frozen
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 pinch Saffron, steeped in a little warm broth
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 15 g Parsley, chopped
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges

Steps

1. Crumble the saffron into a little warm broth and leave it to steep — it needs 10 minutes to give up its colour and perfume. Keep the rest of the broth hot in a pan on a back burner.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide shallow pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides for about 6 minutes until golden, then lift it out and set aside. It won't be cooked through yet — that happens in the rice.
3. Fry the chorizo in the same pan for 2 minutes until it curls at the edges and stains the oil deep orange. This paprika-red fat is the base of the whole dish, so don't drain it.
4. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened, then stir in the garlic, smoked paprika and tomato paste and fry for 1 minute more until fragrant and darkened.
5. Tip in the rice and stir for a minute so every grain is coated in the red oil, then pour in the hot broth and the saffron with its steeping liquid. Season with salt and give it one good stir to level the rice.
6. Nestle the chicken back in and simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for about 18 minutes. Do not stir again from this point — stirring releases starch and turns paella into risotto.
7. Scatter the peas over the top in the last 5 minutes. When the liquid is gone, turn the heat up for 60–90 seconds until you hear faint crackling from the base — that's the socarrat forming.
8. Take the pan off the heat, cover loosely with a cloth and rest for 5 minutes. Finish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges, and serve straight from the pan.