You’ll find versions of this delicious smoky rice dish at most beach bars on the Algarve – but here’s one you can make at home
Diana Henry
The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
Published
This is an approximation of the rice dish that’s served at nearly every beach bar on the Algarve. It was one of my dad’s favourite dishes. He used to kind of growl when the bowls of it arrived.
This is as near to the dish we loved as possible. I did wonder whether it contained cumin – maybe it did in some places – so you could add half a teaspoon to the vegetables.
You could also add half a teaspoon of Marmite to the stock. The dish tasted quite beefy in some places but the addition is up to you. If you don’t have enough chicken stock, add water to make the liquid up to 750ml.
Overview
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
40 mins
Serves
4
as a side dish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 150g chorizo, or a mixture of bacon and chorizo, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
- ½ red pepper, deseeded and cut into squares
- ½ green pepper, deseeded and cut into squares
- ½ yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into squares
- 200g basmati rice
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 3½ tsp hot smoked paprika
- 35g tomato purée
- 2 bay leaves
- 750ml chicken stock
Method
Step
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and sauté 150g finely chopped chorizo (or mixture of chorizo and bacon). If using the bacon, sauté until it’s pale gold. Lift the chorizo (and bacon if using) out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Step
In the same oil, sauté 1 finely chopped onion until it has a good colour, then add 2 grated garlic cloves and the ½ red pepper, ½ yellow pepper and ½ green pepper (all cut into squares) and sauté until soft.
Step
Add 200g basmati rice, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 3½ tsp hot smoked paprika, 35g tomato purée and 2 bay leaves, along with the chorizo (and bacon if using). Season.
Step
Pour on 750ml chicken stock and bring up to the boil. Boil hard until the liquid has almost disappeared and the surface of the rice is pitted.
Step
Put the rice on a very low heat, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Fork the rice through to aerate it. Serve with chicken piri piri, or griddled or fried chicken or squid.