Mixed Catalan Paella in Southern France
It was the sheer size of the paellera that caught my eye. Where do you get a pan like that? I thought; I didn’t realize at the time that it was made specifically to cook paella. Then my gaze drifted to the contents of the well-seasoned pan. It was filled with brightly coloured rice that reminded me of buttercup pollen, and the top was scattered with a beautiful assortment of seafood and lemon wedges.
I bought a bowl of it and had a little picnic outside of the market. The dish was as pleasing to the taste buds as it was to the eyes, and I immediately made my way back to the market and searched for the ingredients — the signs were in Catalan, the common language of this particular town in Southwestern France.
They read: Arròs, Safrà, Llimona, Musclos, Pollastre. Rice, saffron, lemon, mussels, chicken.
Sadly, admiring and taking photos of the produce was all I could do — I didn’t have my own kitchen to experiment in.
Now that I am with-kitchen, and despite the fact that the ingredients are not as fresh (and I don’t have a paellera to call my own), I can make paella. Finally. And so can you.
Have you ever tasted paella? Or made it yourself? Let me know in the comments section at the bottom of the page…
Mixed Catalan Paella
Serves 6–8
Ingredients:
½ cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
½ pound mussels, cleaned
½ cup olive oil, divided
1 pound chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
½ pound prawns, deveined
½ pound calamari, cleaned and cut into rings
1 white-fleshed fish, deboned and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
2 pinches saffron threads
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 large lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions:
1) In a large stockpot, mix wine, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring to a low boil and add mussels; simmer for 15 minutes. Remove mussels and set aside.
2) Heat half of the oil over medium-high heat in a paellera or an oversized deep pan. Add the chicken and cook until cooked through and golden brown; remove from pan and set aside. Place the prawns, calamari, and fish in the pan and cook for 2 minutes; remove from the pan and set aside.
3) Heat the other half of the oil in the pan and add the onion, garlic, green pepper, and tomato. Cook, while stirring, for five minutes. Add the stock, rice, saffron, paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
4) Spread the cooked chicken, prawns, calamari, fish, and mussels over top of the rice. Place red pepper strips on top, and, using a wooden spoon, all of the toppings down into the rice. Continue to cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Garnish with lemon wedges.
