Chicken

Chicken, Sausage, and Red Pepper Paella

May  1, 2021
4
3 Ratings
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

Paella to me is the ultimate one pot meal. It also is the time of year where I am not ready for a stew but want something more substantial than the usual summer fare. Paella is a great answer. Although paella is considered Spanish I think this one is more Mediterranean. I use Italian sausages but fresh chorizo would be good, the important part is that the sausage isn't dry cured or it would just be drier in this case. I also use arborio rice, but you could use the Spanish version of this as well. - thirschfeld —thirschfeld

Test Kitchen Notes

The presentation factor of this dish should not be underestimated. It arrives at the table looking like a wagon wheel of color, with the chicken, sausage and peppers serving as the thin spokes surrounded by yellow rice. The background flavor provided by the reduced wine, saffron threads, Aleppo pepper, and sautéed aromatics is subtle enough for each of remaining ingredients to have its own moment in the sun. Thirschfeld wisely advises seasoning at every step so that the abundance of rice left after the dish’s main elements have been eaten is a pleasure rather than a clean-your-plate chore. - cheese1227 —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 chicken legs, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 Italian sausages
  • 2 chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 1 fennel bulb, tops trimmed, core removed and sliced very thinly
  • 1/4 cup garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 1/2 cups warm water
  • pinch of saffron, crumbled
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, cut in half from top to bottom, and grated, large whole of a box grater, leaving the skin behind
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups arborio rice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons aleppo pepper
  • 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, minced
  • 2 tablespoons green onions, sliced into thin rings
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions
  1. Sometime during the day or when ever you have time, turn a gas burner to high. If you don't have a gas burner turn your oven to broil and place a rack at the highest level you can. Char the peppers, top, bottom and all on sides. The idea is to char the skin without cooking the pepper through.
  2. Place the peppers into a container with a lid. Set aside for at least 20 minutes. Crumble the saffron into the warm water.
  3. If you roasted them properly the skins will easily peel right off with out running them under water.
  4. Peel, seed and core the peppers and then julienne them into thick strips.
  5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 16 inch paella pan or a 12 inch saute pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and once it is hot add the chicken, skin side down, and then the sausages. Brown them thoroughly and then remove them to a plate. You don not want them to cook all the way through. They will finish cooking in the oven you just want to brown them.
  6. Turn the heat to medium and add the onion and fennel. Season them with healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until they start to soften. Add the garlic, aleppo pepper and bay leaves, once fragrant add the white wine and grated tomatoes and cook for a minute or two letting the alcohol burn off. Add the saffron water and rice. Season again with a healthy pinch salt and pepper. Shake the pan to level out the rice. Place the chicken into the pan and arrange the red peppers around the chicken.
  7. Bring to a boil, place the pan into the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Cut the sausages in half. Once the timer goes off add the sausages and place the pan back into the oven. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
  8. Once the timer goes off remove the pan from the oven and place a clean towel over the top. Let the dish rest for five minutes, remove the towel and garnish with parsley and green onions, then serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Mary Hiland
    Mary Hiland
  • Lilismom
    Lilismom
  • spiralgal
    spiralgal
  • Burnt Offerings
    Burnt Offerings
  • loubaby
    loubaby

35 Reviews

Cora December 30, 2019
I prepared this dish last night with a few changes. It was beautiful. The taste was layered and the rice was only partially cooked. Using two types of sausages I added left over king crab and peas omitting the green onions, fennel and wine. I will make it again using less tomatoes and pre cooking the rice longer.
 
Darian August 24, 2018
This was SO good! I am allergic to shellfish, so usually avoid paella recipes because they often have shrimp, etc. My husband was so surprised this dish retained the "paella" flavor which he always thought came with the seafood. It was excellent!
 
Darian August 24, 2018
Oh I also used leeks instead of fennel because we are not big fans of fennel.
 
Marcia M. May 20, 2018
I just made this with all chicken thighs and carnaroli rice. It was delicious and visually stunning. Thanks for the recipe!
 
mklug October 1, 2015
Yet ANOTHER solid winner from thirschfeld! Made this last night and it was fantastic. I've been challenging myself to make a new recipe for dinner every time it's 'my' night to cook, and this will be a keeper.
 
Mary H. March 20, 2013
Recipe I must make soon.
 
Lilismom November 2, 2012
It's in the oven as I type. It smells divine. Will report back later!
 
spiralgal January 23, 2012
I made this dish tonight with a few additions/changes and it came out wonderfully. I substituted par cooked short grain brown rice for the arborio, used a chipotle pepper since that is what I had and added artichoke hearts, andouille sausage and kalamata olives. I served it with fresh lemon wedges for squeezing on the dish. For dessert, shortbread and lemon sorbet with fresh mint. All in all, a great success...thanks!
 
Brenzo January 22, 2012
Made it for supper last night using the paella pan I was gifted for Christmas.
It was excellent, definitely the best paella I have ever made. It brought us back to Spain!
Made a few changes : used chicken stock rather than water, dried Chili flakes rather than Aleppo pepper (I couldn't find it at the store), added tiger prawns, and used chicken breast rather than bone in/skin on chicken. Next time, I think I'd go with a fattier piece of chicken, otherwise the changes were fantastic.
Thanks!!
 
Burnt O. April 3, 2011
My brother is coming for dinner, and I had a couple of red peppers and a fennel bulb in the fridge that need to be used. Typed red pepper and fennel into the search and voila! This is perfect! I picked up a bag of mussels for $2 and will tuck them in around the chorizo and chicken. I have everything else on hand. Gorgeous one pot meal.
 
loubaby October 20, 2010
OH oh....I made a mistake...I am speaking of a different paella recipe from this site...carry on....good recipe people....my error
 
loubaby October 20, 2010
I don't understand...when reading the recipe, the picture doesn't match...and you made such a point about the presentation here....the pepers are chopped in the recipe...where are the mussels, clams etc..that the recipe states, but the picture doesn't?...I am confused....and the recipe is in disorder of ingredients used...very complicated...sounds good, but please help.
 
aliyaleekong October 19, 2010
This looks heavenly!!
 
onetribegourmet October 19, 2010
Your Paella looks absolutely mouthwatering! Bravo!
 
luvcookbooks October 18, 2010
beautiful all the way around, i am so fascinated to see how different everyone's takes on paella are.
 
dymnyno October 17, 2010
This sound so delicious...I must have been gone when this was posted because I saw it for the first time today. I love that all the entries are so different.
 
TasteFood October 17, 2010
This looks beautiful. I like your rendition of a classic paella, with a welcome touch of user-friendliness. Chicken and sausage are perfect components, and I am a huge fan of fennel. Good luck!
 
TiggyBee October 16, 2010
I made this a few weeks back...it's going to be a pretty tough thing, not to mention a really tall order to top this for me! Glad to see it entered here!!
 
Auntie M. September 12, 2010
We made this last night. Everyone in the kitchen had a comment- where are the olives, why are you grating the tomatoes,doesn;t look like enough rice etc.? I said- I am following the recipe exactly. They all ate their words. Wonderful dish. Thanks.
 
pierino September 2, 2010
Hey, boss! Where are the snails, man? On the chorizo side I would recommend a semi-cured "Bilbao" style. At least that's what I use for cooking. I like your use of allepo pepper here as a substitute for the more prototypical pimenton. It works well with this. And obviously you know that you don't stir paella. If there's ever a Top Chef food52 battle I want to be on your team. We could knock out a killer paella!
 
thirschfeld September 2, 2010
Love snails and love rabbit in my paella but this time I took a turn. Sort of paella meets arroz con pollo, sort of. I would be honored to be on the same team.
 
Indian G. September 1, 2010
Fantastic!!! I always love the flavor of the rice but am never crazy about the seafood!!! Even from a shear aesthetic perspective, this dish rocks...so colorful..well done and I look forward to more twists on classic dishes!!
 
thirschfeld September 2, 2010
thanks Indian Globetrotter