Paella Mixta
Let’s talk Paella guys. A delicious meal to share with family and friends, abundant in flavors and colors. Paella came to us from Spain and many people consider it as a Spanish staple, and a national dish. However inside Spain, Paella is known to be a regional specialty of Valencia, and Valencians regard paella as one of their identifying symbols. Here is a pic I took of the very authentic paella de mariscos.
Paella. Valencia. Spain.
The key ingredient is the right rice. Spaniards use Bomba rice (paella rice), a short-grained variety which is known to absorb much water without getting mushy. If you can’t find Bomba rice, substitute with an Italian brother – arborio rice – it is more popularized in the U.S. and easy to find in grocery stores.
There are several types of paella:
- Valencian paella
- vegetable paella (paella de verduras)
- seafood paella (paella de mariscos)
- mixed paella (paella mixta)
Paella should be cooked on an open fire (in this recipe I used gas burner, attached to the grill) and ideally in a special paella pan. I use 12” cast iron pan instead, and it turns out fine too. I would recommend to find something more shallow to get this nice toasted rice layer at the bottom of the pan. This toasted rice layer called – soccarat – considered a delicacy in Spain and a sign to a good paella.
Paella Mixta
Wine Pairing suggestion: young and fruity red wine, served a bit chilled. Or, full-bodied, oak aged white wines like Chardonnay.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1/2 tsp. chili pepper
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 oz. chorizo sausage
- 1 onion
- 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 16 oz. clam juice
- 14,5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
- 12 clams
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
- 10 Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Peel and devein shrimp. Pat them dry and sprinkle with chili and black peppers. Tip: You could also use frozen seafood mix same way. Just thaw them carefully and remove the extra liquid.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil until smoking, add shrimp and cook until curled and pink on sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.
- Slice chorizo sausage 1-inch thick
- Add remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil to skillet and heat until smoking. Add chorizo and cook until it gets a bit brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer chorizo to a bowl with shrimp.
- Finely chop the onion, garlic and thyme. Add the onion and thyme to a skillet with fat from chorizo and cook on medium heat until the onion is soft (5 min or so).
- Stir in garlic and cook for 30 sec (be careful not to overcook garlic).
- Add the rice, stir and cook for 1 minute until grains are sizzling and lightly toasted.
- Stir in clam juice, tomatoes, saffron scraping any browned bits.
- Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (about 15 min).
- Stir in shrimp and chorizo. Arrange clams on top and sprinkle with green peas.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 more minutes until clams have opened (discard any that didn't open).
- Remove from heat and let stand covered for 6-7 minutes more.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
- Bon appétit
Nutrition (per serving)
Tags
paella paella mixta spanish paella
