Juicy Jambalaya with Perfect Prawns and Paprika

Phil's original recipe contains chicken, while I have nothing against chicken, it sometimes doesn't agree with me, so I generally leave it out. I'll put the amounts and instructions if you want to add chicken to yours, or you can follow the amounts that I use and add extra prawns.

Ingredients
Serves 4

• 2 Inch wedge or chorizo (you can get this cut to size at the Deli counter at your supermarket) cut into smallish chunks
• 200g/7oz Prawns (if your omitting the chicken, 180g if not)
• 1 Large red pepper diced
• 1 Large onion (i use white, but red is fine) finely diced
• 1 Crushed clove of garlic
• A big glug of olive oil
• 2 Tsp's of smoked paprika
• 600ml strong stock (I use veggie stock, but feel free to use chicken)
• 2 Tsp's tomato puree
• Small bunch of spring onions
• 160g white long grained rice (feel free to use brown rice if you'd like)
• salt and pepper

If you want to add chicken  you'll need one large chicken breast cut into 2cm chunks.

Method

• Pop your oven up high to Gas 6/ 200c.
• While the ovens warming heat your oil in a big flameproof casserole dish (I don't own one of these, so I cook everything in a large frying pan and ladle it all into a oven proof dish at the end, your welcome to do this too).
• Fry your onions, pepper and garlic over a high heat for around 4-5 minutes until it all has some colour.
• Next add your paprika and if your adding chicken you now need to pop that in too. Give it all a good stir and cook until the chicken is opaque, it will cook through the rest of the way in the oven. While the chickens cooking away, you can make up your strong stock. strong stock is made using half the water specified on the pack. 
• Next you can throw in the chorizo, puree and the rice. Give it all a good stir and pour over your stock. bring the whole lot to the boil.
• If you've done your cooking in a frying pan like me you need to ladle everything into an oven proof casserole dish with a lid and pop in the oven. If you used a flameproof dish to begin with pop straight in the oven.
• The jambalaya needs to cook for around 18 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the stock.
• With oven gloves remove the dishes lid and add the prawns and spring onions, give it all a big thorough stir and leave to stand for about 5 minutes for the prawns to warm through. 
• Serve in big bowls on a windy, rainy evening, with the heating high and Strictly Come Dancing on the telly.