Seafood and Chorizo Paella
A wide pan of saffron rice left alone just long enough to catch a crust on the bottom.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Written
Method
-
Warm the olive oil in a paella pan or wide skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chorizo, then set it aside.
-
Season the chicken and sear it in the same fat until deeply golden on both sides, then set it aside with the chorizo.
-
Add the onion and pepper to the pan and cook until the onion turns translucent.
-
Stir in the garlic, rice, saffron, and paprika and toast the rice for a minute until it smells nutty.
-
Pour in the hot stock, return the chicken and chorizo to the pan, and shake the pan once to settle everything evenly.
-
Simmer without stirring until the liquid has mostly disappeared from the surface, about 15 minutes.
-
Nestle the mussels and shrimp into the rice, scatter the peas over the top, and cook uncovered until the mussels have opened and the shrimp are opaque.
-
Raise the heat for the last 2 minutes to catch a crust on the bottom, listening for a faint crackle, then remove from the heat.
-
Let the pan rest for 5 minutes before bringing it to the table with lemon wedges and parsley.
Notes
The crust on the bottom, the socarrat, is the entire point of this dish, and it only happens if you stop stirring the moment the rice goes in. Every risotto instinct you have works against you here — walk away from the pan and let the heat do the work.
Bomba rice holds its shape better than arborio, but a short-grain sushi rice will get you close if that’s what’s in the pantry. Swap the mussels and shrimp for whatever shellfish looks best that day; the chorizo and saffron base carries all of it.