Paella is one of those dishes that I love to eat, but seldom make at home. It’s one of those specialties you need to order in a restaurant for it to be made properly, right?
I wanted to prove this theory wrong, so I set out to find the best Paella recipe I could. As usual, I used my family as my guinea pigs, and tested the recipe on them. We all agreed it scored a 10 out of 10 even though my son picked out the peppers and as many peas as possible. It was truly fabulous and so delicious, and I can’t wait for our next dinner party to bust this out again!
Here’s how to create your own Paella Party:
Chicken and Shrimp Paella
Serves 6 people
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
¾ to 1 pound chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
½ pound Spanish chorizo, cut into ½-inch coins
½ green pepper, julienne
½ red pepper, julienne
½ onion, medium dice
2 plum tomatoes, medium dice
1 pinch saffron
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
4 ½ cups chicken stock, warmed
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup peas
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, rough chopped
1. Heat a heavy, wide pan over medium-high heat, and add the grapeseed oil.
2. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, and sear in the hot pan until lightly caramelized on one side. Flip and repeat. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
3. Repeat the same technique with the chicken thighs, and set aside separately from the shrimp.
4. Reduce the heat to medium.
5. Add the chorizo to the pan, and cook until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the pan, and set on the same plate with the chicken.
6. Gently saute the green peppers, red peppers and onions until lightly caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the tomatoes, saffron, garlic and paprika. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic and the tomatoes are soft. Tip: The tomato juice will help release any bits of fond from the bottom of the pan.
8. Stir in the rice and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.
9. Pour the stock into the pan, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the seared chicken and chorizo to the pan, and stir.
10. Bring the stock to a boil, and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered and undisturbed, until all of the stock has been absorbed and you no longer see bubbles of liquid in the pan. This will take approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Note: When all of the stock has been absorbed the bottom of your paella will develop that quintessential crispy layer that’s considered to be the best part of the dish!
11. Decoratively arrange the shrimp and peas on top of the paella, and cover for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shrimp are hot. Remove from the heat.
12. Sprinkle the top with parsley, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Now that you have the recipe to make fabulous Paella, there should be nothing holding you back! If you feel like you need a practice run with one of our professional chefs, we are here to help. Sign up for our Paella Party hands on cooking class this summer, and we’ll teach you the ins and outs of how to create not only the star of the show, but some incredible accompaniments, too!
We have lots of options to choose from, so sign up for one in June now:
Our July class calendars were just released this morning, so there's even more Paella Party to come next month. See all of our July classes!
