Paella brings everyone to the table and offers a little something for each person, all the while putting an entire meal in one dish. Simply satisfying! Each part of Spain makes their paella differently and the flavors can range from gamey rabbit, to fresh seafood. Our favorite is Spanish paella with chicken, seafood and a few other special ingredients!
One thing to keep in mind with Paella is that there are a lot of ingredients! But don't be intimidated! These are simple ingredients you can most certainly find in your grocery store.
I will never forget the first time that I saw a paella in real life. I was living in the South of France in Montpellier. Southern France and Spain have a pretty loose border, culturally, and so you find that may people in that region of France speak Spanish, their traditions are a bit Spanish, and so is their food.
When I lived in Montpellier, the tram system they have in place now didn't exist. (You can watch this old video I took as a joke which now has a decent number of views on Youtube and unfortunately dislikes.) Montpellier is known for being close to the beach, but without the tram and with no car, getting to the beach proved to be more of an adventure. First, we rented a city bike in town, and put it illegally on the city tram. We would then take the tram to the last stop, get off, and ride our bikes for about an hour, getting as close to the beach as we could. One there, we'd park our bikes and do the rest of the way on foot.
French beachside towns come in all different varieties, but being from Hawaii, this was not one that I was used to. First and honestly, this beach town was a bit more rustic tourist than I was expecting. It had seen its heyday in the 70's or 80's and the construction still stood, but with very little updates or renovations. This part of France was more of a local destination than a tourist one. The tourists were east of us in Marseille and Nice but this plot was truly reserved for the locals.
The second thing I noticed, which shouldn't have been a surprise, was that restaurants existed straight on the beach. And when I say on the beach, I mean, on the sand, steps from the water. Lots of them. Never could you have this in America. I remember sitting on this gray couch, drinking a glass of champagne thinking, where the heck am I?
Just off the beach, on the road going through town, there were vendors getting ready for the season. It almost looked the like the days before a carnival, with shops half open, and people moving everywhere.
It was hot, really hot, and everything was yellow. The sun, the beach, the roads, and shops. We walked down and on the corner we saw two of the largest paella pans I've ever seen, probably 4 or 5 feet across, filled with steaming food.
And I said to myself, "oh my gosh, this is paella in real life!" And I had to have some. It was literally, one of the coolest experiences of my life. I was eating real paella, out of a huge paella pan, granted not in Spain, but very close. And it was delicious. The only thing I could compare this to was eating fish at Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. (Though full disclosure, I ate more Kobe beef there than fish as I am not a raw fish fan. Hood went full speed and went straight for the eel. But I digress.)
I don't remember which specific paella I ate, I don't even remember what it tasted like, I just remember thinking the entire experience was so cool.
Since that time, I have had other moments with paella. I've ordered it in Spain numerous times, and even choked down my cousin's host mother's version with tuna and globs of mayonnaise. Not my favorite. I hate mayonaise.
But paella is truly a magical dish. Its complexity of flavors, beautiful color, and bringing of everyone to table makes it one of my favorite dishes to prepare and share.
This recipe is best made if you have a paella pan and burner like this one, or just the paella pan itself to use on the stove. But if not, not a problem. You can use whatever you have! Cast iron works great, but any pan will do!
Smoked Spanish Paprika
Bold, Earthy, Smoky Aroma
A staple spice in Spain, smoked Spanish paprika comes from smoking several varieties of bell and chile peppers over wood chips and then grinding the dried peppers into a fine powder. Smoked Spanish Paprika will not only brighten your dishes with its vibrant, natural, reddish orange color, but will add a deep smoky flavor and a mild spice accent.
We recommend using Smoked Spanish Paprika to flavor and color stews, rice or meat dishes. It can also be enjoyed sprinkled over eggs, tomatoes or even potatoes for color and flavor as well.
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Print📖 Recipe
Spanish Paella with Chicken, Chorizo, Saffron, and Shrimp
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove & Oven
- Cuisine: Spanish
Description
Paella brings everyone to the table and offers a little something for each person, all the while putting an entire meal in one dish. Simply satisfying! Each part of Spain makes their paella differently and the flavors can range from gamey rabbit, to fresh seafood. Our favorite is Spanish paella with chicken, seafood and a few other special ingredients!
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp. Spanish Saffron
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 lbs. chorizo, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 10 chicken pieces, with bones and skin
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. MarnaMaria Smoked Spanish Paprika
- 1 28 oz. cup whole tomatoes, drained, and cut into quarters
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cups short grain rice, preferably Valencia rice
- 10 large shrimp, unpeeled
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat the chicken broth until just simmering. Reduce heat to low, add the saffron and let steep until ready to use. (If the stock looks like it’s boiling, you can just turn it off.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Heat a large paella pan (20”) over medium heat. Paella pans are thin so they heat up quickly and can get quite hot over even a low flame. Keep an eye on your ingredients. If you are using a regular pan, you may need to use high heat.
- Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom on the pan and add the chorizo. Sear until brown, crispy, and just about cooked through if using raw chorizo, or cook until browned if using cured, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Add chicken to paella pan, skin side down, and cook until skin is brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Be sure to add more olive oil as needed.
- When chicken skin no longer sticks to the pan, flip and let cook until just about cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add onions and cook until just about soft and translucent, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add in red peppers and let cook until peppers are tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in garlic and paprika and let cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, green beans, and cooked chorizo and stir to combine.
- Add in rice and stir to coat. Spread rice evenly across the pan. Pour broth over the rice and arrange push chicken pieces onto the top of the rice.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven and let cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Raise oven temperature to 500ºF and remove aluminum foil. Place uncooked shrimp on top and allow to cook for 5 minutes longer until shrimp are cooked and the rice on the bottom of the pan is crispy.
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