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A plate with paella and an egg cut open with a fork.
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4.50 from 2 votes

30-Minute Cheat's Paella

A quick and easy recipe for a cheat's paella - simple to put together for a flavourful light dinner.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British, Spanish
Servings: 2
Calories: 509kcal
Author: Sasha Hooper

Ingredients

  • 175 g/1 cup basmati rice
  • 300 ml/1 ¼ cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • pinch of saffron optional
  • 100 g spicy chorizo 2 small sausages, diced
  • 1 bell pepper finely sliced
  • 3 spring onions sliced
  • 1 large tomato peeled and diced
  • ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
  • juice of half a lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • olive or rapeseed oil
  • 2 eggs

Instructions

  • First put the rice on to cook. In a medium saucepan (ideally heavy-based) add the rice, chicken stock and saffron along with a pinch of salt if the stock is unsalted. Bring to the boil. Once boiling, stir with a fork once only, clamp on a lid and turn the heat down as low as it will go. If your pan doesn't have a well-fitting lid, seal the pan with foil before putting on the lid. Cook for 10-12 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the lid on. Set aside.
    175 g/1 cup basmati rice, 300 ml/1 ¼ cups chicken, pinch of saffron, salt and pepper
  • As the rice cooks, get started with the chorizo. Add the chorizo to a cold frying pan and turn the heat on to medium. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the fat runs out and the chorizo starts to crisp up but not burn. Remove to a small bowl with a slotted spoon and remove most of the fat from the pan.
    100 g spicy chorizo
  • Add the peppers to the pan and cook until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add the spring onions, tomatoes and smoked paprika and cook until softened and forming a sauce. Add back the chorizo.
    1 bell pepper, 3 spring onions, 1 large tomato, ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
  • After the rice has sat for at least 5 minutes, remove the lid and separate the grains with a fork. Add the forked rice to the vegetable and chorizo mixture along with the lemon juice. Season to taste.
    juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper
  • Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive or rapeseed oil in a frying pan until very hot. Crack in the eggs and fry over high heat until the white is cooked and the base is crispy and the yolk is still soft. Serve on top of a big pile of rice sprinkled with sea salt and smoked paprika.
    2 eggs, olive or rapeseed oil

Notes

The saffron is optional, but I do urge you to use it if you can. That pungent grassy note is unmistakeably paella.
If you choose to omit the chorizo, up the smoked paprika to 1 teaspoon to make sure you still get that smokey flavour.

Nutrition

Calories: 509kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.2g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 10.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.3g | Cholesterol: 295.5mg | Sodium: 2647.7mg | Potassium: 1280.5mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8.8g | Vitamin A: 305.4IU | Vitamin C: 149.1mg | Calcium: 158.1mg | Iron: 4.4mg