Katie’s Classic Spanish Paella

Katie’s Classic Spanish Paella

This has been a Sunday afternoon staple in our family for years. Katie is the paella master. You can always tell if there are Spaniards in your group. They are the ones digging to the bottom of the paella for the crunchy, stuck-to-the-bottom part of the paella. While not traditionally Spanish, cooking a paella in a large cast iron (16-20”) pan creates the best crust on the bottom of the pan. Katie has Americanized our paella recipe a bit, substituting pork spare ribs for rabbit and snails, which are found in a traditional Valencian paella.
Servings

10-12

Prep time

60 min

Ingredients
  • 1 pound boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 rack baby back ribs, 1½” long (3 vertical cuts through rack)
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons sweet red paprika
  • 8 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1 level teaspoon saffron
  • 5 tablespoons high-quality Spanish olive oil
  • ¾ cup flat Italian beans or 1 cup frozen baby lima beans, thawed
  • 1 package (7 ounce) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, halved and grated on a cheese grater (skins discarded)
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 3 cups arborio rice
  • 8 cups hot chicken broth
  • Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the paella pan)
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper cut into strips, for garnish
Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (16” or larger) over medium heat.

Add the spare ribs and chicken to the pan and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Add the beans. While they are cooking, make a clear spot in the middle of the paella pan and cook the grated tomatoes until they look a little pasty. Add the paprika, stirring quickly, and immediately add the hot chicken broth until it is almost to the top of the paella pan’s edge.  

Cook all the ingredients for about 20 minutes over a high fire, tasting for salt. Add the rice. Cook for 20 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Remove paella from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes, covering the top with newspaper. 

Source: Adapted from the New Spanish by Anya van Bremzen © Copyright 2005 Anya van Bremzen.
Purchase: The New Spanish Table by Anya van Bremzen
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