Maria's Classic Paella
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Description
I have loved paella since the first time I tried it while traveling through Spain at 17. Though I could never make it as great as my friend's mom in Madrid, this recipe comes so close! It's a favorite at our house for Sunday dinner and tastes all the better when made in a traditional paella pan (brought back in a suitcase, no less!). I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 20 saffron threads, crushed
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 links chorizo de bilbao (spicy Spanish semi-cured sausage)
- 2 cups Spanish paella rice
- 2 teaspoons Spanish sweet paprika
- ½ cup grated peeled roma (plum) tomatoes
- 8 clams in shell, scrubbed, or more to taste
- 8 mussels, cleaned and debearded, or more to taste
- 8 prawns, peeled and deveined (leave tails)
- 3 red bell peppers, cut into strips
- 10 ounces peas
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 8 wedges lemon
- 1 baguette, sliced
Directions
- 1. Bring stock to a simmer in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Stir crushed saffron into the simmering stock.
- 2. Heat olive oil in a paella pan over medium heat. Fry chicken thighs in hot oil until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes more. Arrange the chorizo into the pan around the chicken thighs and cook until warmed, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- 3. Pour rice into the paella pan and stir to coat with oil; season with sweet paprika. Stir grated tomato into the rice and cook until the tomato is warmed, 2 to 3 minutes.
- 4. Pour chicken stock into the paella pan and bring to a boil while scraping any browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Smooth surface of rice with the wooden spoon in an even layer so it cooks evenly.
- 5. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, without stirring, until the rice has softened but has yet to completely absorb the stock, 15 to 30 minutes.
- 6. Place clams and mussels, hinged-side down, into the rice; continue simmering until the mussels and clams open, 5 to 7 minutes.
- 7. Nestle prawns into the rice; add bell pepper and peas. Continue cooking until the bottom of the rice is browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle parsley over the paella, and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with baguette slices.
Nutrition Facts
serving: 8 servings
calories: 813.6 kcal
carbohydrates: 80.1 g
protein: 37.4 g
saturated fat: 8.7 g
cholesterol: 97.9 mg
sodium: 1150.2 mg
fiber: 5.5 g
sugar: 6.3 g
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