Recipes

Pretend Paella Recipe: Nadia & Kaye Disaster Chef

Something simple for the everyday.

Whip up “pretend” paella with this recipe from Nadia and Kaye Disaster Chef. In Kaye’s own words: “I wanted Nadia to devise me a recipe for something that was like a paella but not a paella because that would be far too much faff. There’s still a lot of chopping in this, but that’s what 10-year-olds are for. We wouldn’t want a new generation of Disaster Chefs, would we?" 

Ingredients

2–3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 8
3–6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g (10oz) basmati rice
pinch of saffron threads
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika (optional)
150ml (5fl oz) dry sherry or white wine
400ml (14fl oz) hot fish stock (from a cube is fine)
400g pack of frozen seafood mix
100g (3½oz) frozen peas lemon wedges, to serve
handful of chopped parsley leaves, to serve

Serves 4

1.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until softened.

2.

Add tomatoes and stir. Add the rice, saffron, and paprika (if using), and stir for 1 minute.

3.

Pour in the sherry or wine. Increase the heat to bring up to the bubble for 1 minute, stirring to burn off the alcohol, then reduce the heat to medium.

4.

Add the stock and seafood mix, cover, and simmer very gently for 15 minutes over a low heat, or until the rice and fish are cooked. Add the peas 3 minutes before the end. Don’t stir.

5.

When the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, you’re ready to go, with a good squeeze from the lemon wedges, and a flourish of chopped parsley.