I love chorizo and I’ll be honest, I bought the chorizo I used in this to put in a chilli Miss S and I made earlier in the week. (Chorizo in a chilli? Amazing!) Now, I wouldn’t exactly say this was a risotto and from my limited paella knowledge I wouldn’t say it was one of those either, but it is tasty. It’s also colourful and I like colourful food. It takes about 30 minutes to make this so its a straightforward meal during the week and good for when you have a friend round, or want to impress whoever you are feeding.

To make this you will need:

Uncooked king prawns (I used about 7 but I was just feeding myself, you’ll want more for more people as people get quite upset over a lack of prawns)

1/3 of a chorizo ring

1 pepper

1 courgette

Approximately 200g rice (I used basmati)

Chicken stock

1 and 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp mixed herbs

 

Peel and slice the onion and garlic, pepper and courgette. Dice the chorizo. Butterfly the prawns by slicing them down their backs (not all the way through the prawn). Put the prawns, chorizo, courgette and peppers to one side and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft.

Add the diced chorizo and fry for 2-4 minutes.

Add the courgette and green pepper and fry until the vegetables look slightly cooked. They should go orange because of the chorizo oil.

Add the rice and fry for 30 seconds – 1 minute.

Add enough stock to cover all of the rice, plus a bit extra. Add the paprika, turmeric and mixed herbs. Turn down onto a medium low heat and leave the rice to absorb the water, stirring it all occasionally.

If the mixture starts to dry out add some more water or stock.

Once the rice is pretty much cooked, add the prawns and stir until the prawns turn pink and opaque.

This bit shouldn’t take too long – 3 or 4 minutes at most.

Enjoy your beautifully colourful meal!

This recipe could also be made with chicken for people who dislike seafood, or white fish (if you hae a shellfish allergy like J’s mum). Just add the chicken at the start or add the fish just before the rice starts to look fully cooked.