Chicken Paella

The finished product!

Ingredients: (For 5-6 people)

Two chicken wings
2 chicken thighs
2  chicken drumsticks
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper
2.5 cups white rice (brand Sos)
6 cups water
Olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
Salt

Start with the chicken:
In a medium size pot, heat some olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) on medium-low heat until hot.
Add the chicken pieces (all of them), and turn them until coated with olive oil.
Turn heat to low, and let chicken cook for about an hour, checking it frequently, and turning it when necessary (if it looks like it's sticking to the pan, add more olive oil, and a bit of white wine if necessary).
Add 1/2 diced white onion, and stir to blend with oil.
Let onion caramelize, add some salt. 
Add 1 clove of minced garlic, cook for 1 minute. 
After chicken looks tender and cooked all the way through, take off heat and set aside for now. 
Take out a large frying pan.
Cut the green pepper into small slices.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in frying pan on medium-low heat.
Add green pepper slices.
Stir-fry for 10 minutes or until tender.
Add pieces of cooked chicken to the green pepper pan and mix together on low heat for 5 minutes.
Take off heat and set aside for now.

Chicken with green peppers before adding rice.

Rice:
Using the pot you used to cook the chicken, add 6 cups of water (the same cup you use to measure the rice later on) and a pinch of salt.
Warm up for 5 minutes on low heat to mix the flavors of the pot with the water.
Put the pan with the chicken and green peppers on the stove on low heat.
Add 2.5 cups of rice to the frying pan with the chicken and green peppers (same cup you used to measure the 6 cups of water).

Add rice.

Mix very gently.

 

Add the 6 cups of water.

IMPORTANT: Do not stir! It will make the rice mushy! 
If you like roasted red peppers, which are a common ingredient in many Spanish dishes, add 10 slices of them to the pot at this point. (Pili makes them herself on the stove, but you can find them at the supermarket too).

Heat the rice mixture for 5 minutes on high heat and then drop the temperature to low for 25 minutes.
After 10 minutes, cover with top.
After 30 minutes are up, check the consistency of the rice to make sure it has absorbed all the water.
If you prefer the rice to crisp a bit (as Javi's family does), let the rice cook a few minutes longer.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Abuela Pili frying up some pimientos rellenos...recipe coming soon!