45 mins
Speedy Chicken and Sausage Paella
Let me preface this by saying, making an authentic Paella is serious business. What we have here is a modified speedy/weeknight version. And while it may not have the depth of flavor that results from hours of preparation, it's pretty darn tasty! Saffron is the spice that gives the rice....
Speedy Chicken and Sausage Paella
SERVINGS :
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME :
MINUTES
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, or saffron
- 1 pound bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 andouille sausage, cut into bitesized pieces
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrot, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
Servings:
Directions
- In a saucepan, bring chicken stock and saffron to a low boil. Let simmer while you prepare the remaining.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it begins to shimmer, add chicken, skin side down. Brown for 2-3 minutes, flip, and brown the other side another 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and reserve.
- Add cut sausage to the pan and brown on all sides - just about 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the chicken.
- Add additional oil to the pan if necessary, and add onion and carrot. Cook for a about 5-8 minutes or until carrots are tender.
- Add garlic and paprika and cook just a minute or two.
- Stir in rice and mix until the rice is well coated.
- Pour the hot stock mixture into the skillet with the rice. Stir to combine, then let cook undisturbed for about 15 minutes or until about half the stock has been absorbed.
- Add sausage and chicken thighs, skin side up, to the skillet. Then use the back of a spoon or spatula and press them into the rice.
- Cook 20 minutes or until all the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender.
- Sprinkle peas on top, cover, and let cook 3-5 minutes or until peas are heated through.
- Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, and serve.
Nutrition per serving
Per Serving: Calories 508 Fat 29 Sat Fat 10 Sodium 996 Carbs 32 Sugars 2 Fiber 1 Protein 28.
NOTES
KID NOTE: The rice, chicken, and sausage are all very mild. They really did very well.
VEGETARIAN TIP: Transform this dish into a hearty rice pilaf. Omit the chicken and sausage. use vegetable stock. Cook quartered mushrooms, cubed eggplant, and zucchini with the onion. Add the rice and cook according to the directions.
GLUTEN MODIFICATIONS: Make sure your sausage is gluten free.
I loved this but found the chicken a little finicky. I think I’ll just sear some boneless chicken and add it in at the end next time. Great flavors though!
I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, and the meal came out great!
This worked out in the end, but I found the recipe to be a bit troubling. Partly, I’m sure, this is because I’ve been making risotto for many years and this is similar enough to risotto that I wanted the texture of the rice to be like the risotto I know. Partly, though, there were some problems with the instructions. The recipe never says what heat to use, except for medium-high, but sticking with medium-high through the entire cooking process cannot possibly work. I turned it down to a simmer once I added the broth and STILL all the liquid cooked out within 15 minutes and I was left with rice that was not quite done, in my opinion. I added 2 more cups of boiling water (which would be a more typical risotto liquid ratio) before adding the chicken and sausage for the final 20 minutes. This worked out, actually, and the dish was good! The texture was soft and sticky, it was flavorful (probably needed a bit more chicken broth rather than straight water but that’s a small adjustment). But in the end, I wasn’t convinced that the chicken was well incorporated into the dish. It seemed extraneous. I did use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs so I had to remove them from the dish after the cooking, cut the meat off, and serve. I’ll probably make this again, but skip the chicken entirely.