Southern Paella

In a battle of paellas, diversity and creativity —along with saffron — win the day

By | August 30, 2024

Ingredients

Yield: 7–8 servings, 14–16 inch paella or cast-iron skillet. Cook Time: 1–1 1/4 hours
  • 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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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Ingredients

Yield: 7–8 servings, 14–16 inch paella or cast-iron skillet. Cook Time: 1–1 1/4 hours
  • 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
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