Prawn and Chicken Paella

This Prawn and Chicken Paella dish contains saffron, chicken legs, bomba rice, onion, tomato sauce, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, and clams. 

This paella is incredible and bodes well if you are having a big group of people over. This brings me back to the days when I lived in Madrid and instead of typical pizza being served at a friend's birthday party, paella was served.

Add peas to this recipe if you wish. I omitted as I am not a huge fan of peas.

Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish made with rice, saffron, chicken and seafood. Everything is cooked in a paella pan, which makes cleaning easy! It is best to use chicken thighs WITH the bone, which creates a better taste. To cook this paella, I used a Sauvignon blanc called Alma Libre, and obviously will pair well with the dish.

If you love this recipe, feel free to try my Seafood Boil Bag and my Chicken and Shrimp Fajitas.

Do I need to use a paella pan?

No, you can use a regular large skillet, but this is traditionally made in a paella pan.

How to make Prawn and Chicken Paella

In a small pan, toast the saffron threads over medium heat, constantly stirring until fragrant and dark, about 1 minute. Pour the threads into a bowl and crush with your hands. Keep to the side. 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on each side. 

With a 14 inch paella pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Brown the chorizo for the same amount of time. Transfer to a plate. If you decide to make the paella on the grill, you can choose to place the chicken and chorizo on the actual grill. 

Add the olive oil, onion and garlic and sauce until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree ands stir for 3 minutes. Add the wine, broth, saffron, peppers and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. 

Add the rice and return the chicken and chorizo in the pan. Make sure they are submerged in the broth and bring to a boil on high heat and cook for 10 minutes. 

Add the clams, mussels, and shrimp and submerge in the liquid and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until the liquid has evaporated, the clams and mussels have opened, and the shrimp is pink and opaque. If a clam or mussel doesn’t open, discard. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Using a wooden spoon, push aside the rice to see if there is a brown crust on the bottom, if one hasn’t formed yet, cook longer adjusting the heat to brown the rice. This crust is called socarrat and it is essential to making paella!

Serve with lemon wedges!

Prawn and Chicken Paella

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• Author: Maxine Dubois
• Total Time: 1 Hour and 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 people 1x

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Description

This Prawn and Chicken Paella is made saffron, chicken legs, bomba rice, onion, tomato sauce, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, and clams. 

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 ½ pounds of chicken legs and thighs, cut up
• 2 cups of Bomba or Calasparra short grained rice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (6 oz) can of tomato puree or tomato sauce
• 4 chorizo links
• ½ cup of white wine
• 5 cups of chicken broth
• ½ cup of roasted red peppers
• 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 12 clams, scrubbed
• 12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Lemon wedges to serve

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Instructions

1. In a small pan, toast the saffron threads over medium heat, constantly stirring until fragrant and dark, about 1 minute. Pour the threads into a bowl and crush with your hands. Keep to the side. 
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on each side. 
3. With a 14 inch paella pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Brown the chorizo for the same amount of time. Transfer to a plate. If you decide to make the paella on the grill, you can choose to place the chicken and chorizo on the actual grill. 
4. Add the olive oil, onion and garlic and sauce until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree ands stir for 3 minutes. Add the wine, broth, saffron, peppers and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. 
5. Add the rice and return the chicken and chorizo in the pan. Make sure they are submerged in the broth and bring to a boil on high heat and cook for 10 minutes. 
6. Add the clams, mussels, and shrimp and submerge in the liquid and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until the liquid has evaporated, the clams and mussels have opened, and the shrimp is pink and opaque. If a clam or mussel doesn’t open, discard. Salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Using a wooden spoon, push aside the rice to see if there is a brown crust on the bottom, if one hasn’t formed yet, cook longer adjusting the heat to brown the rice. This crust is called socarrat and it is essential to making paella!
8. Serve with lemon wedges!

Notes

• If your grocery store doesn't carry paella rice, buy on Matiz on Amazon.
• Saffron is pretty hard to find as well. It is worth it to buy high quality saffron.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 Hour
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: Spanish

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 535
• Sugar: 3 g
• Sodium: 1159 mg
• Fat: 15 g
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 59 g
• Fiber: 3 g
• Protein: 37 g
• Cholesterol: 260 mg