Chicken, Chorizo and Pork Belly Paella

Paella is a Spanish rice dish that I have always loved for the juicy prawns and other exotic seafood you will find in the paella of fancy cookbooks and Spanish restaurants hitting the tourist market. These paellas are delicious but recreating them at home can be expensive after buying an array of different seafood and fish. But digging a little deeper into the history of Valencian paella, I have found that the basis of this original dish was in fact chicken and rabbit, much cheaper meats! I have taken the concepts of this original paella along with the typical flavourings, saffron and paprika, to create my own, good value-for-money, all meat paella.

Ingredients to serve 4-6

100g good quality chorizo finely chopped | 500g Boneless Chicken Thighs each quartered | 4 thin boneless belly slices (approx 500g) chopped into bitesize pieces | 400g Bomba Paella Rice | 2 large pinches saffron | 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika | 2 litres chicken stock | 4 cloves garlic finely chopped | 1 chopped onion | 2 large handfuls of frozen peas | Handful chopped parsley | 1 lemon | Olive oil | Salt and pepper |

NB: I wanted to add chorizo for another slice of Spanish flavour and love the texture of the chorizo we sell in the shop, you can see it's made of good pork and has not been over processed!

Heat the oven to 190C | Heat the stock and saffron in a pan | Poach the chicken and belly pork pieces in boiling water for 15 minutes | Drain and leave to one side | Place the belly pork pieces on a baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the outside skin | Meanwhile heat a tbsp olive oil in a large, shallow pan | Fry the chorizo, onion and garlic till soft on a medium heat | Add half the infused stock, rice and paprika | Cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally |

After 15 minutes add the chicken pieces, and gradually add the rest of the stock as the rice absorbs it | After another 10 add the belly pork and frozen peas | Cook for a final 5 minutes or until the dish looks done! | Season, take off the heat, and leave for 5 minutes while you prepare some bread and/or salad as accompaniment | Serve, with a sliced lemon and parsley for garnish, at the table rustic-style allowing everyone to help themselves.

Gok Wan's Chinese Belly Pork

Eager to follow the success of Gok Wan's easy recipe for Peking duck, I thought I'd try his recipe for belly pork. Bored of slow-cooking recipes that leave me with flavourless pork, this recipe only took 2.5 hours and made some of the most tender pork I have ever eaten. The main cooking is done by simmering the pork in a large pan for nearly two hours with garlic cloves, ginger, spring onions, a teaspoon of chinese five spice, shaoxing wine and enough water to cover the meat. The thought of boiling meat can be a turn off but the smells that fill the kitchen are divine and it makes the meat surprisingly tender.

 After this initial cooking, you then place the meat in a baking tray and brush with a glaze of soy sauce and honey, and place in an oven (preheated to 215C) for 20-30 minutes until golden and caramelised. Serve with chinese greens and rice to balance out the sticky rich flavour of the meat. NB. Gok uses star anise but for me chinese five spice works just as well and is often more readily available. You could use this cooking method for cooking belly pork in all styles of cuisine, for example we sell some delicious Cottage Delight barbecue sauces that would work well in place of the soy sauce and honey glaze. For the full original recipe click here.