There are three traditional types of Spanish Paella. This Paella Mixta, is a combination of ingredients used in the other two Paellas. Paella Mixta features the usual bed of rice, vegetables, and incorporates both seafoods and meats.
Paella Mixta Recipe-
Ingredients:
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 16 large prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
- 2 dozen mussels, or clams (or 1 lb. each of both), well cleaned
- 1 lb. rabbit meat, skinned, boned, and chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika “Sweet Dalia” (pimentón dulce)
- Freshly ground black peppercorns
- 1 lb. skinned and deboned chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 ounces Spanish chorizo, (not to be confused with Mexican chorizo) sliced into ¼” to ½” thick rounds
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or more, as needed
- 1 medium large yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
- 1 large pinch mehr saffron threads
- 2 cups paella rice (about 1 pound), sometimes called Valencia rice (you really do want this particular rice, for authentic texture and flavor)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the shrimp and chicken
- 4 cups (1 quart) chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 2 medium lemons, seeds removed and sliced into 8 wedges each
Specialty Item You Will Want to Have:
Directions:
- Halve the tomatoes and cut out the tough cores. Make a pulp by using a grater held over a bowl, and grating the fleshy sides of the halves, until you get to the skins. Toss away the skins. You want to have approximately ¾ cup of tomato juicy pulp. Set the bowl aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, place the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and also ¼ tsp. of the paprika. Stir and toss the shrimp until well-seasoned all over, then put the bowl in the refrigerator.
- In another medium sized bowl, place the chicken in a medium bowl and season with generous portions of salt and pepper, then set this bowl aside.
- Using a grill with a lid, bring the heat up to very high, at least 450°F and even as high as 550°F. Put your 15-inch paella pan on the grill, pull the cover down, and grill until hot, about 2, maybe 3 minutes.
- Now add in the chorizo rabbit into the pan, pull the lid back down, and grille another 2 to 3 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the sausage fat is rendered and the meat is turning brown
- Using a slotted spoon, or tongs, transfer the chorizo to a large bowl and set it aside.
- See how much rendered fat remains in the pan. If there isn’t a good layer coating the entire pan, add some olive oil until there is
- Now take your seasoned chicken and add it into the pan all pieces side by side—do not stack them—and close the lid. Grille until the chicken is well seared, stirring and flipping once in a while, until all sides of the pieces have turned a nice golden brown—this should only take about 5 to 6 minutes (Note: you made to occasionally rotate the pan’s position, to ensure an even distribution of heat)
- Again using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the chicken over to the bowl containing the chorizo, and again set aside.
- Next, put the onion into the pan, season with salt and pepper, close the lid, and grille, stirring now and then, about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft, translucent and fragrant. You may need to lower the heat for this, or move the paella pan to a cooler area of the grill—you don’t want to burn the onion.
- Now put into the pan the remaining ¾ tsp. of paprika, the saffron and garlic, stir until well combined, and grille until nice and fragrant—doesn’t take long, a half a minute to a full minute.
- Take your juicy tomato pulp and add it into the pan, and cook until the mixture gets slightly dark in color, about 3 to 4 minutes. As you cook, scrape any browned bits up from the bottom of the pan.
- Now it’s time to add in the rice and the measured salt. Stir well, until all ingredients are well coated with the tomato mixture.
- Add in the chicken broth and stir and blend all ingredients again until well combined. Use a spatula to pat the rice out, distributed all over the pan’s bottom in an even layer. Important! Do not stir the rice from this point forward.
- Place the chicken and chorizo evenly over the layered rice, and add in any juices left in the bowl you had reserved them in.
- Close the grille’s lid, and lower the heat until the dish is cooking at a vigorous simmer. Continue to cook, checking now and again, until the grains of rice become swollen and at least half of the liquid has been absorbed, about 12 minutes—you should start hearing a crackling noise coming from the rice. (Again, during this procedure, you may need to rotate the pan occasionally to ensure an even distribution of heat; just enough to maintain that vigorous simmer.)
- Place the shellfish and shrimp into the rice, (hinge-side down for the shellfish), distributed evenly across and around the pan. Tuck them in a bit, enough so they are well lodged in position. Close the grill and cook until the shrimp are cooked well through and turning pink, the shellfish have opened, and the rice is getting nice and tender but still a bit al dente—this will usually take about 10 minutes, maybe as much as 12 minutes.
- Arrange the reserved shrimp and the shellfish (hinge-side down) in the rice, nestling them slightly. Close the grill and cook until the shellfish have opened, the shrimp are just cooked through, and the rice is tender but still al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- You are almost ready to serve. Take the pan off the grille and cover it with tin or aluminum foil, and then allow it to sit for at least 5, maybe 6 minutes. When you uncover it, see if any of the shellfish have not opened: any that have not should be discarded.
Serve Paella Mixta with lemon wedges as a garnish.