Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- 6–8 cloves garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup diced piquillo or pimiento peppers
- 1 ½ cups bomba or Arborio rice
- ½ cup chopped Vidalia onion
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tomatoes, grated
- 3 ½ cups chicken stock
- 12 whole okra, halved
- 1 cup cooked butter beans, or black-eyed peas
- 1 ½ Italian green beans
- ½ cup minced fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped, divided
- ½ cup peanuts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 lemons, quartered
About this recipe
Here is Chef Charles Hunter's (@thesaltedtable) paella recipe, long on peanuts, chicken, butter beans and okra. It's open to interpretation with your own seasonal ingredients.
Instructions
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Pat chicken thighs dry, season with salt and pepper. Place skin-side down in a cold skillet, turn heat to medium for 5–6 minutes until fat begins to render from skin. Once thighs are browned, flip and add ¼ cup olive oil, onion, rice, garlic and paprika and sauté for 3–4 minutes while moving chicken around.
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Add crushed saffron threads, tomato paste, chicken stock, grated tomatoes, salt and pepper. Evenly distribute rice around the chicken, reduce heat to medium low. Let cook 15–20 minutes.
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Combine rosemary, peanuts, half of parsley and remaining olive oil in a food processor and pulse until you have a pesto-like consistency. Add salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, about 1 teaspoon. Set aside.
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Evenly distribute green beans, okra halves and butter beans around the paella, nestle them into the paella with a wooden spoon but do not stir the paella. Taste broth for seasoning.
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When rice is al dente, turn up heat to medium high for 90 seconds to develop to develop a crispy layer of socarrat on the bottom of the skillet. Turn off heat and drizzle pesto around the dish. Sprinkle remaining parsley and zest a lemon over it to finish. Serve with lemon wedges.