Paella is actually much easier that it looks and naturally gluten free if you use gluten free stock and chorizo. Once you have got your ingredients, all it takes is a bit of prep then you pop everything in a pan and allow to cook until the rice is soft and the edges are crispy mmmm. I make my paella in a normal large frying pan, but if you have the specialist cookwear then do use a paella pan. My teeny kitchen means I have to limit the number of pans we have in the house!

This gluten free paella recipe is my take on paella (so don’t shout at me for veering away from the classic recipe, Spanish followers :D). Not staying exactly true to the classic ingredients, especially with subbing expensive saffron for a little bit of tumeric, but I think it tastes just as good as the original. I have used prawn and chorizo as my meaty base, but you could equally swap in chicken instead of prawns (just cook along with the chorizo) or leave the meat and prawns out entirely and add extra veggies for a delicious vegan version.

Prawn, Chorizo & Vegetable Paella (Serves 4)

Ingredients

  • 1 large white onion
  • 200g-225g chorizo (a chorizo ring – check to ensure gluten free)
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 250g bomba paella rice
  • 175ml white wine
  • 1 litre vegetable sotck
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 200g frozen peas
  • 150g asparagus
  • 200g cooked and deshelled king prawns
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Finely dice the onion and fry in olive oil 5 mins over a medium heat, stirring regularly until the onion has softened.
  2. Chop the chorizo into rounds and add to the frying pan with the onion. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the fat in the chorizo has rendered and turned clear, releasing a flavour-packed oil in the pan.
  3. Now add the tumeric, paprika and minced garlic, before allowing them to sizzle for a couple of minutes. Your kitchen will start smelling really good at this point.
  4. Next, in goes the paella rice. Stir the rice in with the ingredients in the pan, and cook for a couple of minutes allowing those delicious flavours to infuse the rice base.
  5. Pour the white wine into the pan with the rice and cook for a couple of minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate off and for the rice to absorb the liquid. Season with some black pepper.
  6. In a jug, prepare the vegetable stock and squeeze in the tomato paste. Stir well to dissolve the paste in the stock, giving you a rich tomatoey stock. This is then poured into the fryer pan with the rice, give everythign a good stir and then leave to cook over a low-medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. After 20 minutes, the rice will have expanded and soaked up a lot of the liquid, but the paella will still be quite sloppy. Add the frozen peas and the chopped asapargus to the pan. Stir through the vegetables through the paella and then no more stirring is needed. Leave the paella to cook for a further 10 minutes, allowing all the liquid to be absorbed. The very sides of the paella will start to go all tasty and crispy too.
  8. I used cooked prawns for this recipe so simply nestle these into the top of the gluten free paella and allow to cook for a final couple of minutes until they are warmed through.
  9. Serve with a grinding of black pepper on the top and a heap of lemon wedges – mmm mmmmmm, your gluten free paella is ready to eat!

If you enjoyed this gluten free paella recipe why not try another of my gluten free dinner dishes:

Enjoy! x