Summer & Spanish cuisine go together like Cava & oysters – just right! So when one of my clients requested a Spanish fiesta for her husband’s work event in the back yard, under the most beautiful wisteria-covered arbor I have ever seen, building a feast around the traditional Valencian dish of paella just made sense! Saffron, smoked paprika, and acorn-fed imported Spanish pork products mixed with all of the fresh wild-caught seafood and locally grown organic veggies I could find made for an absolutely delicious main event, accompanied by Andalusian tomato-cucumber-gypsy pepper-onion salad with sherry-thyme vinaigrette and cumin roasted baby super greens with roasted heirloom grape tomatoes. YUM!
Flavors of Spain: Paella Mixta
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Cooking for a crowd is easy with this naturally gluten-free and delicious paella! This recipe makes generous portions for 10 – 15 people. Simply half it and use a wide and deep frying pan if you would like to treat a smaller group to an amazing Spanish meal!
Author: Nicole Poirier
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Spanish
Serves: 10 – 15
Ingredients
- 4 oz spanish chorizo
- 2 lb chicken thighs – I used boneless skinless
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- pinch salt for seasoning
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 sliced sweet onion
- 5 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 2 julienned red peppers
- 3 chopped sweet chili peppers
- 3 c rice – arborio, Valenciana,or bomb – though honestly, both long-grain white & sushi rice will work in a pinch
- pinch saffron
- 6 c chicken broth – low sodium recommended
- 2 lb mixed seafood – shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels, clams
- 1 c fresh or frozen sweet peas
Instructions
- You will also need a paella pan and enough aluminum foil to cover the pan.
- Place your pan over medium high heat and let it get nice and hot. Saute chorizo for a couple of minutes to render the fat, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Toss the chicken, either whole thighs or cut up into bite-size chunks, with salt, pepper, and a nice tablespoon of smoked paprika. Once the chicken is evenly coated, brown on all sides in the rendered chorizo oil. Remove and place in the same bowl as the cooked chorizo.
- Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the pan. Sauté onions, peppers, and garlic until they start to soften, but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and saffron and stir well to coat the grains evenly with the oil in the pan. Then add chicken broth, 2 c at a time and stirring in between. Let this cook for 5 minutes, and replace the chicken and chorizo into the mixture, stirring again to incorporate.
- Lower heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so, until the rice is halfway cooked and liquid is starting to get low in the pan.
- Add seafood & peas and cover with aluminum foil – or a lid! – and let cook for an additional 8 – 10 minutes undisturbed. This will create the delicious crunchy layer on the bottom of the pan and steam all of the seafood in extremely fragrant vapor!
- Remove foil, remove pan from heat, and stir through the seafood. Your paella is ready to eat!
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