Easy Pot Roast Chicken Paella

Melanie Johnson is a food columnist at Country Life as well as a photographer and stylist and she has shared her delicious Easy Pot Roast Chicken Paella with us. This recipe also featured in Country Life Magazine in July. Melanie says “I absolutely love making this recipe as a summer take on roast chicken and it couldn’t be easier. The rice is so full of flavour from everything being cooked in one pot.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 whole Sutton Hoo chicken, or you could use bone-in pieces

A splash of olive oil

1 red onion, peeled and diced

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 red peppers, thinly sliced into strips

A pinch of saffron

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp tomato paste

100 ml passata

300g risotto rice

200ml white wine

900ml chicken stock

1 lemon

A handful freshly chopped parsley

Method

Add a splash of olive oil to a large lidded casserole dish that can hold a whole chicken. Brown the chicken all over and then remove from the heat, setting it aside.

To the same casserole dish add the onion, fennel, red peppers, saffron, smoked paprika, tomato paste and passata.

Stir to mix it together and return the chicken to the dish. Place the lid on and then cook in your oven for 45 minutes. 

Remove the casserole dish from the oven and move the chicken to one side so you can pour in the rice and stock. Mix it together and then reposition the chicken to the centre.

Place the lid back on and return to the oven for 30 minutes at which point you can remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes.

To serve, squeeze over the lemon juice and scatter chopped parsley.

Enjoy the chicken and rice together and a lightly dressed, leafy salad would go perfectly.

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You can find Melanie on Instagram here and her other recipes on Country Life here.