Hive Top Chef! | Paella Pizazz

Dreaming of travelling to the azure waters in the Mediterranean sea, Spanish fiestas, Flamenco dancers, exploring ancient castles, and so much more, would be a fabulous break from real life!

I cannot see that happening anywhere on my horizon, at least not now, but the foodie contest Qurator's: Hive Top Chef! | Paella gave me an excuse to try a taste of Spain right here in my own kitchen.

My Paella may not be one hundred percent authentic, but it was absolutely delicious; fragrant with flavours from the Indian Ocean - sadly not from the Mediterranean sea!
I should have had an ice-cold glass of Sangria with this Spanish dish, and enjoyed it sitting around a table with my whole family, but sadly the family is spread all over the country and the world.

Running a BnB in South Africa brings guests from all walks of life, and all parts of the world, now that Covid restrictions have been lifted in most countries.
This means a load of work; it's not just a matter of handing all operations over to staff, as we believe in little personal touches.

As time always is of the essence, (no siestas for me!) I have to find ways to do things as quickly as possible, so there was no time for slow-cooking this colourful and tasty Paella!
Hubby and I sat around the table licking our fingers afterward, thinking just how much our family would have enjoyed this dish!

I paid a visit to Granny Google, who now has become the enemy of my new Huawei phone that tries to lure me to its Apps by doing all kinds of stuff to poor old Google - WHY DID I NOT LISTEN TO MY SON!!!

I've always liked Jamie Oliver's cooking and used his Paella as a guideline as I've not made this dish in a long while - my version is not even close to his, but nevertheless turned out really good.
I did not make a large dish as there were only three of us; our gardener cum handyman Bongikosi seldom joins us for dinner so takes his meal to his room as he'd rather sit and watch his soapies on TV while eating.

Paella - my version

• 4 deboned Chicken fillets, diced, seasoned & rolled in flour
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 3 Spring Onions, chopped
• 100 gram Streaky Bacon, diced sorry, I forgot to buy Chorizo!
• 12 large Pink Prawns with shells
• 12 Half-shell Mussels
• 1 cup Rice - I used Basmati, not Paella rice, another rule broken!
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric - Saffron was way too expensive & this is a fair alternative
• 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
• Handful Italian Parsley
• Handful frozen Peas
• Half a Lemon - cut in wedges for servings

I used a deep large old Bauer pan, and started frying the chicken pieces in Olive oil, pushing it into one corner of the pan after turning it over
Bacon was added in another corner to fry to a crisp
Onions, garlic & spring onions joined the party in their own little corner
Parsley was added once everything was nicely browned

While this was going on, I cooked the rice in chicken stock and turmeric, not too long or it would turn into a mush, adding the smoked Paprika at the end.

All fried ingredients were removed and kept warm, making space for the prawns and mussels to each take their turn to quick-fry in more olive oil in the same pan, and removed.

Rice and chicken stock were placed in the pan to soak up all the flavours.

All the fried ingredients except prawns and mussels were added, lightly stirred into rice to mix.

Prawns and mussels were placed on top, covered with a lid, and simmered for 10 minutes, not longer!

Served with lemon wedges, this Paella was a real feast, giving us a little taste of Spain.