Pairing Paella with Rioja Blanco – Recipe and Wine Match

We don’t mind saying he came up with a masterpiece that tasted as good as it looked. The wine perfectly complements the wonderful mixture of flavours included in this dish. Check below for the recipe and if you end up recreating this dish, make sure you upload it and tag us on social media.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cubed
• 150g mange tout, sliced in half widthways
• 100g chorizo, sliced into rings
• 6 chicken thigh fillets, skin & bone off. Roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• 3 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
• 1 red & green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon tomato purée
• 750ml hot chicken stock
• 350 g paella rice
• 100 g frozen peas
• 200 g frozen peeled cooked prawns
• 1 lemon
• (Optional) 1 teaspoon saffron strands (soaked in 200ml of water 20-30 minutes prior to cooking)

Method

• Place a generous glug of olive oil in a wide, heavy based frying pan or paella pan on a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, chorizo, chicken and 2 teaspoons of paprika, and fry for around 8 minutes until they begin to brown, stirring regularly.
• Add the pepper and mange tout and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Stir through the tomato purée and add 100 ml of the saffron infused water (if using) and pour the rest into the stock. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Pour in 500 ml of chicken stock and season with a good amount of sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly from the outside in and from the inside out. Keep adding small amounts of the remaining stock to the pan throughout this time and the remainder of the paprika to turn the rice a beautiful golden yellow.
• Stir in the peas and prawns and cook for 5-8 minutes.
• Season to taste and take to the table with wedges of the lemon around the edge of the pan to serve.