Chicken and Seafood Paella
This “mixta” style of paella — cooking both meat and seafood into rice — is what most people outside of Spain know and love because it’s delicious, homey, and incredibly satisfying. Below is a winning combination that we created after a trip to our local market. Stick to it or swap in similar ingredients; that’s the spirit of “mixta.” It’s not just that cooks everywhere have their own versions, but they have different versions every time they make it based on whatever looks good at the market.
Serves: 4
Prep: 1 hour
Total: 1½ hours
Ingredients
Chicken and Seafood Paella:
3 cups Chicken Stock
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces boneless skinless chicken legs and/or thighs, cut into ½-inch chunks
5 ounces pork belly, cut into 1- by 2-inch pieces
4 ounces cuttlefish or squid, cut into 1/2” dice
1/2 onion, chopped very finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cubanelle pepper, cut into ½-inch squares
½ red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch squares
2 large artichoke hearts cut into 8 wedges
1 tomato, grated on a box grater, skin discarded
¼ pound green beans, preferably Romano beans, trimmed and cut into
2-inch lengths
1½ cups bomba rice
2 cups broccoli florets
8 mussels, beards removed, cleaned well (discard any that have opened)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Procedure
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to keep
just warm until ready to use.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 16-inch paella pan over high heat. Season the chicken and pork with salt and pepper and put into the hot oil in a single layer. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 7 minutes. Add the cuttlefish and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender and browned about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then add the peppers and season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the artichokes, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, until the pan is dry, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add the hot chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat and season to taste with salt. Sprinkle the rice evenly in the pan. Stir it a little to make sure it’s evenly distributed and submerged in the liquid, but then don’t touch it again. You don’t want to activate the starches and make the mixture creamy like a risotto. You want the grains to cook separately from each other. Scatter the broccoli on top. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously for 5 minutes.
Simmer until the rice is al dente, about 10 minutes. Tuck the mussels into the rice. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon oil over the rice and raise the heat to high. Cook until all of the liquid evaporates and the rice forms the soccarat crust on the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rest for about 5 minutes. Uncover and serve directly from the pan, discarding any mussels that haven’t opened
