Paella with Chicken, Vegetables, and Homemade Sofrito

Ingredients

• 2 pinches saffron threads
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1½ cups green beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound chicken thighs
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ pound ground chorizo
• 1 medium tomatoes
• 2 cups paella rice
• 3 mini sweet red and yellow peppers
• 1 medium onion

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make sofrito (or use premade). Dice onion, garlic, and 3 mini sweet peppers (a food processor works). Combine with paprika, salt, a can of crushed tomatoes, and a dash of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook 5 to 10 minutes over medium-low, stirring so it does not stick. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Chop green beans and any other vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
4. Slice tomato. Set aside.
5. Add olive oil to a paella pan or large oven-safe skillet (wide, not a deep pot) and bring to medium-low heat.
6. Add chicken thighs and chorizo. Brown the chicken on both sides. Remove chicken and chorizo and set aside.
7. In the same pan, add the sofrito and simmer 3 minutes.
8. Stir in rice. Cook on medium heat about 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
9. Add stock with saffron and bring to a boil.
10. Add chicken and chorizo back. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 minutes.
11. Add chopped vegetables and fold them in once. Lay sliced tomatoes on top. Do not stir again after this. Put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.
12. For socarrat: skip the foil. Set the pan on the stove over medium-high for 1–2 minutes, no stirring. Listen for a quiet crackle and a toasty smell, not smoke. The bottom should be browned and a little stuck.
13. Rest uncovered a few minutes so the crust firms up.