Paella Mixta (Seafood and Meat Paella)

I love hosting dinner parties. There’s nothing better than having good friends over for conversation and games, along with good food and copious amounts of wine. One of my favorite dinner party recipes is paella. It’s fairly labor intensive, but the end result is always impressive and worthwhile. I’ve made this recipe a number of times and worked on variations and developed some ways to prepare ahead, which I share with you below. It’s best to use a paella pan if you have one, since it’s wide and shallow which helps for even cooking. If you don’t, you can use a large shallow pan instead but I would recommend not using a deep pot because it won’t allow for even cooking without stirring.

Feel free to sub out some of the ingredients, but I typically stick to chorizo, chicken, shrimp and mussels. I find it best to cook the protein separately to control the level of doneness – although you can also cook the shrimp and mussels directly in the paella. Cooking the meat in advance allows you to have those ready even a day in advance if you’re short on time day of.

Prep the Ingredients

First you start by marinating the chicken with 2 tsp of paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. I typically add some cornstarch as well – which is a Chinese trick to keep the meat super tender and flavorful, and prevents the meat from drying out and getting tough. Season the deveined shrimp with 1 tsp of paprika, salt and pepper. You can cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator as you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Crush saffron into the cup of white wine and let steep. Halve the tomatoes and grate the flesh side of each half over a medium bowl, stopping when you get to the skin. Discard the skins and set aside the tomato pulp. Chop up the garlic, onion, red pepper and parsley.

Cook the meats

To get started with the cooking, heat olive oil in a paella pan. Remove the chorizo from the casing, and sauté the chorizo until browned, breaking up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove and reserve. In the same pan, add chicken and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Remove from pan and reserve.

Make the sofrito

In the same pan you cooked the protein in, add a bit more oil and heat over medium-low heat. Cook the onion and bell pepper in the center of the pan, stirring occasionally and scraping up some of the browned meat bits, until the onion softens and darkens slightly, about 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley, chopped garlic, hot sauce, pepper, and about 2 tsp of salt and cook for 3 minutes. Add grated tomato pulp tomatoes and paprika. Gently cook the mixture in the center of the pan, stirring frequently, until it’s deep, dark red and very thick, about 30 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed, being careful not to let it burn. Note: I’ve definitely cooked this mixture for less time – e.g. 15 min with no noticeable difference in taste, but cooking it longer does bring out some richness.

* VC note: To prepare some of the paella ahead of time in case of a time crunch (e.g. cooking on a weekday), I’ve cooked all of the protein and the sofrito the day before. I then just reheat the sofrito prior to the next step of adding the rice and broth, and then add the cooked protein back to the paella later in the cooking process.

Putting it all together

Add the rice to the sofrito, and stir-fry to coat the grains, 4-5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and slowly pour in saffron-steeped wine and 6 cups broth. Add in the bay leaves, and season with more salt (about an additional 2 teaspoons). Stir to mix everything together. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer. Note: When I had a gas stove, I used the front and back burners so the heat distributes better, but with my new induction oven, I just use the largest cook surface and reposition often.

From this point on, do not stir the rice. Simmer until the rice is al dente, for about 20-25 minutes. It’s best to rotate the pan throughout the process to ensure that it cooks evenly throughout and doesn’t burn in one place. If at any point the broth seems to be evaporating too quickly, reduce the heat slightly, cover loosely with sheets of foil, or add a little more broth, 1/4 cup at a time as needed.

Add in the reserved cooked chicken and chorizo throughout the rice. Add in the uncooked, seasoned shrimp, tucking them into the rice. Continue to cook until the shrimp just stars to turns pink, about 8 minutes additional. Reduce the heat to low, scatter the peas throughout and cook until a crust develops, for about another 5 minutes.

Steam the mussels

I prefer to steam the mussels separately since they never seem to cook quite right in the paella itself. To do so, in a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add in ½ cup of white wine and the mussels. Cover and cook, gently shaking pot once or twice, until mussels open, 5-6 minutes. Discard any that remain closed. Remove the pot from the heat.

Garnish and serve the paella

Remove the paella pan from the heat, cover loosely with foil for a few minutes to trap the heat and finish the cooking. Before serving, add in the cooked mussels, and garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Dish up with some charcuterie, a side salad and veggies for crunch and freshness, and you have a guaranteed paella party!