Mixed Paella Recipe: Classic Seafood & Chicken Paella

Our Daring Cooks’ September 2012 hostess was Inma of la Galletika. She brought a taste of Spain and challenged us to make a classic paella. Paella is one of those dishes with countless regional and personal variations. The most widely recognized original is paella valenciana from Valencia, traditionally made with chicken, rabbit, vegetables and sometimes snails. There is also seafood paella with squid, prawns, mussels and clams, and the mixed paella that combines meat and seafood — my favorite and the version I prepared here.

This is my personal take on paella mixta. I aimed to follow traditional technique where practical and used bomba rice, a short, round rice from the Valencia region prized for paella because it soaks up liquid well while keeping its texture. For convenience and for my children I used chicken tenders instead of mixed pieces with bone and skin; traditional recipes often use bone-in pieces for more flavor. This recipe is adapted from LaPaella.net and is dedicated to my grandfather, who loves paella — nonno, this one’s for you.

Recipe adapted from LaPaella.net

Ingredients (for 4–6 people, 40 cm / 15 ¾ in pan):
500 g (1.1 lbs) bomba rice
200 ml extra virgin olive oil
450 g (1 lb) chicken (tenders used here; bone-in pieces are traditional)
150 g (5.3 oz) pork loin, cut into large pieces
1 tbsp sweet paprika (pimentón rojo dulce)
2 pinches saffron stems
8 tbsp diced tomatoes
200 g (6 ¾ oz) green beans, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces
¾ cup peas
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), thickly sliced
15 large mussels
6 king prawns
1.5 L (6 cups) liquid — at least a 1:3 rice-to-liquid ratio; I also used an extra cup during cooking. Use mussel cooking liquid plus a mix of chicken stock and water.
Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Start by cooking the mussels: place them in a pot with a little water, cover and heat until they open. Remove the mussels and reserve them. Strain and save the cooking liquid — it adds excellent flavor to the paella.
2. Heat the olive oil in the paella pan over medium heat. Sprinkle a little salt around the edge of the pan where the oil may not reach; this helps prevent burning.
3. Sauté the king prawns for a couple of minutes until lightly colored, then remove and set aside.
4. Add the chicken and pork to the pan and brown well. Add the sliced capsicum and fry 2–3 minutes. Remove the meat and pepper and set aside.
5. Quickly sauté the peas and green beans for a couple of minutes. Push them aside and add the diced tomatoes to the center of the pan; fry about 2 minutes. Stir in the sweet paprika and mix well. After a minute, return the meat to the pan and combine everything.
6. Add the reserved mussel liquid and other stock to reach about 1.5 L (6 cups) of liquid total, along with saffron and salt. Stir and let the mixture simmer for about 18 minutes. At this stage taste the broth: it should be a bit salty because the rice will absorb seasoning as it cooks. Depending on rice type, heat and evaporation, you may need an additional cup of liquid — be prepared to add more if necessary.
7. Spread the rice evenly across the pan so all grains are submerged and finish cooking evenly. Avoid leaving grains piled on top of meat or vegetables where they won’t absorb liquid.
8. Raise the heat to high and cook for about 6 minutes, then arrange the mussels, prawns and capsicum slices on top. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue cooking about 13 minutes, or until rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. If the rice finishes but excess liquid remains, increase heat briefly to evaporate it — paella should be relatively dry, unlike risotto.
9. When done, remove from heat and allow the paella to rest for 5 minutes. Serve straight from the pan in the center of the table for a communal experience.