Summer Paella Mixta
The last few times we’ve had Paella at home we’ve made it as a quick meal during the week when we’ve not had time to plan. Which, to this day, I still giggle to myself when I reminisce of my mother grafting on Saturday nights to make a Paella ready for Sunday’s family lunch where we’d gather out in the sun and enjoy great food and great company until nightfall. Having a Paella really is a symbol of sharing with your loved ones and although I haven’t had the chance to share it with my family for some time, whenever I get the opportunity to make a Paella for people it really is much more than a dish; it’s a celebration.
Many of you who have been buying our Paella in a Bottle for some time will have your favourite recipes so I thought I’d share one of mine with you and a few tips on how I make my perfect summer Paella.
When I have time I always make my Paellas with bone-in chicken thighs and cut each chicken thigh into bite size pieces by cutting through the bone (I usually get 3 pieces out of 1 chicken thigh). This is very common in Spain and most will ask their butcher to cut ‘chicken for paella’. If you have a large chef’s knife you’ll be able to cut through the meat and once you reach the bone with your other hand slam down on the top of the knife until it cuts through.
Wine Pairing: If you really want to wow your guests you can pair a wine with your Paella. Depending on what ingredients you add to your Paella different wines will complement it.
Meat Paellas go well with a bold red wine
Seafood Paellas should definitely be paired with a white wine
Mixed Paellas go well with either red or white but I recommend for those of you who like rose, to pair it with mixed Paellas. You will be pleasantly surprised at just how well it balances with the dish whilst maintaining its character.
The fresh ingredients in this recipe tend to be a handful so don’t worry too much about meticulously weighing out each ingredients.
Ingredients
1 bottle of Sabor de Amor Paella Sauce
250g Paella Rice
3 skinless chicken thighs, bone-in cut into pieces
100g raw prawns
35g red pepper
35g broad beans OR garden peas
Handful of green olives
Olive oil
Method
(TIP) Place your paella pan on a high heat and add some rock salt to the pan (about 1-2 tsp). Once you hear a few crackles and the pan starts smoking add a few tbsp of olive oil and your chicken thigh pieces.
(Make sure you use a stove that heats the whole pan)
Once you have lightly browned the chicken. Add the peppers and broad beans and fry for 1-2 minutes on a high heat.
Add the bottle of Paella Sauce, refill the bottle with water 3 times over, adding it to the pan and bringing to a hard boil.
Add the green olives followed by the paella rice and shake the pan to settle the rice.
Leave it to simmer for 20 minutes without stirring.
Place the prawns on top of the paella for the last 5 minutes to gently cook
(TIP) If you want to get the socarrat increase the heat for the last 2-3 minutes and listen for a crackle or toasty smell)
Once the 20 minutes have passed and the rice has absorbed all the liquid, leave the Paella for 5 minutes to finish cooking.
Serve with some lemon wedges around the pan and share it with your guests.
