CHICKEN, PEAR AND SMOKED BACON PAELLA

I broke a few rules with this dish and loved the results. It is so delicious and decadent. The pears are cooked in butter and caramelised with sugar ‒ and we all know how good that tastes.

SERVES 3

PREP 30 minutes COOK 45 minutes

FOR THE PEARS

H 2 pears

H large knob of unsalted butter

H 3 tbsp caster sugar

H 1 litre chicken stock

H 0.3g saffron (see tip, page 24)

H 90ml extra virgin olive oil

H 3 chicken thighs on the bone, skin on

100g smoked bacon lardons 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika 1 tomato, grated

330g Spanish paella rice sprig of rosemary salt and pepper, to taste

Start by caramelising the pears. Peel and halve the pears. Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the pears for about 3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle the sugar over the pears and keep frying them over a high heat for a few minutes, flipping them from time to time until they turn a golden colour. Set aside for later.

Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan over the lowest heat and crumble in the saffron.

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan over a medium heat and add the chicken, skin-side down first. Fry for about 5 minutes on each side. Add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes until all the meats are a roasted golden colour. Add the garlic and the paprika, shortly followed by the grated tomato, and cook for 2 minutes until the oil starts separating from the tomato. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes, making sure the rice is coated with the oil.

Add the hot stock to the pan and give it a good stir to distribute the rice evenly.

Taste the stock and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cook over a high heat for 10 minutes, then add the pears and the rosemary sprig and cook over a medium-low heat for the last 9 minutes, without stirring. Let it rest off the heat for 5 minutes before eating.