Recipes>Chicken Recipes

A Spanish-flavoured Rice Dish

by Catherine Phipps from Chicken: Over two hundred recipes devoted to one glorious bird

Easy

A wonderfully quick paella-like dish, combining chicken with leeks, peas, peppers and fennel for a speedy Spanish supper that’s bursting with flavour.

Discover more delicious Chicken recipes

From quick traybakes to hearty roasts

From the book

Chicken: Over Two Hundred Recipes

Catherine Phipps

Chicken: Over two hundred recipes devoted to one glorious bird

Inspiring chicken recipes to expand your repertoire

Delicious recipes for family occasions

Simple, classic dishes for every level of cooking expertise

Buy From

Introduction

This isn’t a paella, but is instead a wetter, soupier dish, more like an American ‘bog’, but made with short-grain rather than long-grain rice. I know it’s yet another dish containing fennel and smoked paprika, but that is a wonderful combination much loved in my household. There is an argument for making this look much more impressive, by using whole chicken pieces and browning them well but this is supposed to be quite a quick dish and, really, I like the way the flavours manage to get right into the chicken.

Tags

Ingredients

1 tbspolive oil, plus more if needed
8skinless boneless chicken thighs, chopped
2leeks, finely chopped
1red pepper, sliced
1fennel bulb, sliced
4garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tspfennel seeds, crushed
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve
1bay leaf
1 tbsptomato purée
300gshort-grain or paella rice
pinch of saffron strands, soaked in a little warm water for 30 minutes
1 litrechicken stock
400gcan of artichoke hearts, well rinsed (optional)
100gpeas (frozen are fine)
100gpodded broad beans
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of chopped parsley leaves

Method

Put the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan or casserole. Add the chicken and brown well on all sides. Remove from the casserole. Add the leeks, red pepper and fennel, with a little more olive oil if necessary, then fry quite briskly until they start to soften and take on some colour. Add the garlic along with the fennel seeds, lemon zest and bay leaf. Stir, for a minute, then add the tomato purée.

Tip in the rice, then stir to combine. When the rice is looking red and glossy, pour in the saffron and its liquid and the stock. Add the artichokes, if using, then sprinkle over the peas and broad beans and season with salt and pepper. Make sure the rice is evenly spread over the base of the pan, then bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat, partially cover, then simmer for around 20 minutes. By this point the rice should be al dente and the whole dish should have a slightly thicker-than-soup texture. Serve in bowls with lots of parsley and lemon wedges.

Reviews

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Cancel reply

Your review

Name *

Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use .

Be the first to leave a review

Ingredients
Method

More Chicken Recipes

View all

James Martin’s Chicken, Chorizo and Bean Stew

by James Martin from James Martin’s Saturday Morning Cookbook

Bored of Lunch’s Chicken Katsu Curry

by Nathan Anthony from Bored of Lunch: Healthy Fakeaways

More Spanish Recipes

View all

José Pizarro’s Hake Croquetas

by José Pizarro from The Spanish Home Kitchen

José Pizarro’s Chicken Cannelloni

by José Pizarro from Recipes from Catalonia

More Quick Recipes

View all

Jamie Oliver’s Dukkah Poached Eggs

by Jamie Oliver from Eat Yourself Healthy

Jamie Oliver’s Herby Chickpea and Feta Salad

by Jamie Oliver from Eat Yourself Healthy

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week