This is by no means a traditional paella, but has great flavor and is customizable to your tastes or what you have on hand by using different proteins and/or vegetables. If using shrimp, I would probably cook them about a minute a side where the recipe has you searing the chicken, but not add back to the pan until about 5 minutes away from end of cooking so the shrimp do not get too tough. While this recipe takes a while, it is mostly hands-off and the preparation is not too involved.
The biggest struggle I had with this recipe was getting the rice the way I wanted. My main goal was to not have any (or very few) grains of rice that did not absorb enough liquid and were hard. I also prefer a less-aggressive browning on the bottom of the dish, which is definitely not authentic. However, you may adjust the heat and cooking times near the end to get a firmer bottom crust. Ultimately, after testing different amounts of liquid, rice types, and covering the pan during cooking, I found that using short-grain rice and covering the pan for the first half of cooking resulted in basically no undercooked rice grains. I also abandoned using white rice as I prefer the flavor of the brown rice, so if using a different type of rice you may need to adjust liquid levels and/or cooking times.
Timings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Wait: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Equipment Notes
- A 10in skillet with high sides is used for this
Ingredients
- 3 chicken thighs, cut in bite-sized cubes
- 1/2t kosher salt
- 1t pepper, divided
- 1 small pinch (about 6 strands) saffron
- 1/2C dry white wine
- 1/2C chicken stock
- 1T neutral oil
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut in 1in squares
- 1 shallot, sliced lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2C green beans, cut in 1in pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1t salt
- 2t tomato paste
- 1/2C unwashed short-grain brown rice
Steps
- Sprinkle the kosher salt and 1/2t pepper all over the chicken and set aside.
- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the saffron and toast for 1 minute tossing and moving frequently.
- Remove the saffron and break it up with your fingers. Add it to a microwave safe bowl along with the wine and chicken stock. Heat for 2 minutes on high in the microwave.
- Add oil to the pan along with the chicken. Cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown, flipping halfway through.
- Add the peppers, onion, green beans, garlic, salt, and remaining pepper, and cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato paste and mix well. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly.
- Add the liquid and rice, and mix well. Bring to a simmer then cover and turn the heat to low. Cook untouched for 30 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook about 10 minutes or until the liquid is fully absorbed and evaporated and the sound from the pan turns from bubbling to sizzling and popping. If you want a darker crust on the bottom, then cook for about 5 more minutes or until you start to smell some charring.