Supermarket chicken paella

It’s not your abuela’s paella, but it is a weeknight game-changer that breaks the Spanish cookbook rules! Switch up your supermarket roast chook with Japanese rice for a fast, Spanish-inspired hearty chicken and rice dish that’s big on comfort and low on fuss.

• serves

  6

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ¾ cup passata
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock
• 1 tbsp chicken stock powder
• ½ lemon, finely zested and juiced, plus wedges to serve
• 2 cups koshihikari rice (see Note)
• 1 supermarket roast chicken
• 1 jar piquillo peppers, drained
• ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan with a lid over medium heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the passata, peas, saffron, paprika, bay leaves, chicken stock, stock powder, lemon zest and juice to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then stir through the rice.
2. Reduce the heat to low, then cover. Cook for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for 5-10 minutes on a higher heat, or until you hear the rice starting to crackle at the base of the pan.
3. Top the rice with the chicken and peppers, then drizzle with extra olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Note

Koshihikari rice, a Japanese variety, is similar to the rice varieties using in traditional paellas, but is widely available in Australia and often more affordable.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.