Nico's Cook In, Cook Out30 Minutes

Spanish Rice

Name: Spanish Rice
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 onion, roughly chopped; 1 green pepper, roughly chopped; 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped into small pieces; 200g raw prawns; 4 garlic cloves, roughly sliced; 50g butter; 1/2 tsp chilli flakes,; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 350g basmati or long grain rice, washed; 1 lemon, zest and juice; Handful of coriander, stems and leaves; 500ml chicken stock; 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes; 3 bacon rashers - finely sliced; 150g frozen peas

Nico ReynoldsFrom the series · Nico's Cook In, Cook Out

30 min totalServes 4Easy

Spanish Rice

Time30 min

Serves4

SkillEasy

ShowAll Fired Up

Method

Add the bacon strips to a cold pan and start at a low heat.

As the bacon fat renders, stir and add the prawns, cook until just pink.

Remove the bacon & prawns from the pan and set aside.

Add another glug of olive oil to the pan and add the celery and finely chopped coriander stems.

After a couple of minutes add lemon zest,

Next add the onion and peppers, stir and add the chilli flakes, paprika and salt and pepper

Add the garlic and butter and then stir in the rice so that it gets fully coated in the mixture

Add the canned tomatoes and chicken stock.

Bring up to heat, then cover, reduce to a very low temp for 15 mins

Once all the liquids have been absorbed, add bacon and prawns back in

Add frozen peas in and give them a few minutes to warm through

Serve with chopped coriander and fresh lemon juice.

Cook's notes

Starting the bacon in a cold pan on a low heat renders the fat gently, which flavours everything that follows and stops it burning.
Cook the prawns only until they just turn pink, then lift them out. They finish later, and overcooking now leaves them rubbery.
Rinse the rice before it goes in to wash off surface starch, so it steams up separate and fluffy rather than claggy.
Once the liquid is in, keep the heat very low and the lid on for the fifteen minutes and resist stirring, which is what lets the rice steam properly.
Fold the bacon, prawns and peas back through only at the very end, just long enough to warm them, then finish with fresh lemon and coriander.

Serve with It stands on its own as a full meal, but a simple green salad or some garlicky greens alongside makes it feel more of an occasion. A chilled dry white or a cold beer suits it.

Make ahead & storage Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour, then use within a day. Reheat until piping hot the whole way through, and don't reheat cooked rice more than once.

30 Minutes

Recipe by Nico Reynolds · From the series Nico's Cook In, Cook Out · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

618kcal

22gprotein

95gcarbs

17gfat

Approximate — calculated from the ingredient list using USDA food data. A guide, not a medical figure.

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