Spanish baked rice with leek, bacon and chickpeas

Jam-packed with flavour, this recipe is the perfect dinner for everyone to get stuck into. This tasty meal is great for the whole family to enjoy.

Main courses
Spanish baked rice with leek, bacon and chickpeas
  • Preparation time 10–20 minutes (prep. time)
  • Cooking time 20–25 minutes  (cooking time)
  • Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g streaky bacon, diced (alternatively use cooking chorizo, or a combination of both)
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, sliced, rinsed and well drained
  • 5 garlic cloves, skin on and left whole
  • 3 whole plum tomatoes from a tin, drained of juice
  • 1/2–1 tsp sweet paprika, to taste
  • 300g Spanish paella rice (risotto rice will do)
  • 600ml hot chicken stock or boiling water
  • Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt (optional)
  • 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C (170C fan)
  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole over a moderate heat and fry the bacon and/or chorizo for 3–5 minutes until golden, blistered and exuding fat.
  3. Add the onions, leeks and garlic cloves and cook for about 8 minutes until soft
  4. Add the tomatoes, paprika and rice and mix everything together until the rice is well coated and warmed through. Add the hot stock or boiling water and the parsley and give the rice a good stir. Check the seasoning, adding a bit of salt or paprika if necessary. Add the chickpeas to the surface of the rice and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid.
  5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and the grains are just cooked through.
  6. Leave to rest for 5 minutes off the heat, with the lid on.
  7. Serve with lemon wedges and be sure to squeeze the pulpy flesh from the garlic cloves as you come across them.