Paella is a feast, a dish made for sharing. Martha’s paella for a crowd has chicken, pork, shrimp, calamari, mussels, and clams in a flavorful tomato rice. The rice is studded with bell peppers and peas and flavored with saffron and Spanish smoked paprika.
Learn how to get a soccarat, the delicious crispy crust of the paella that becomes caramelized and toasted on the bottom of the pan as it cooks, by following Martha’s recipe. Her paella for a crowd makes enough for 12 diners; if you are feeding a bigger crowd, you can double the recipe.
What Is a Paella Pan?
“Paella” is a word from the Valencia region of Spain; it derives from the Latin term for “pan.” Paella is both a dish and the pan that the dish is cooked in. A paella pan is wide and shallow to create maximum surface area; this allows liquid to evaporate and forms as much crispy golden crust (called socarrat) on the bottom of the paella as possible.
Paella pans come in a wide range of sizes, from options that feed just one or two people to giant iterations that make paella for a crowd (and a large one at that—over a 100 hungry diners!). A large paella pan can be placed across two burners—as Martha does in this paella recipe—or it can be cooked on the grill or in the oven. Carbon steel is the most popular material for paella pans, but it’s not your only option. There are also stainless-steel and enameled paella pans.
How to Make Paella Without a Paella Pan
Any wide, shallow skillet can be used in place of a paella pan. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your layer of rice should be no more than 2 inches deep.
Ingredients
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12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 5 pounds)
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3 tablespoons olive oil
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2 teaspoons paprika
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4 large tomatoes
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1 large red bell pepper, cut into quarters, stemmed, seeded, and ribs removed
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1 large green bell pepper, cut into quarters, stemmed, seeded, and ribs removed
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2 teaspoons saffron
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Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
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4 cups homemade or store-bought chicken stock, warmed
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⅓ cup cognac
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1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
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1 large white onion, chopped
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2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
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1 ¼ pounds calamari, cleaned and cut crosswise into ½-inch rings
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12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
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1 ½ pounds short-grain white rice
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16 littleneck clams, scrubbed
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18 mussels, scrubbed
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2 cups fresh or frozen peas
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½ pound blanched haricot vert, trimmed and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
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½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving
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Lemon wedges, for serving