Paella mixta is the best known variant of the traditional paella or Valencian paella. This paella is made not only with different types of meat, but also with different seafood such as mussels, squid and shrimp. Without a doubt, the seafood brings a special flavour to the paella mixta. It is not the “original recipe for Valencian paella“, so everyone can change it to their own taste by adding more or less ingredients. Here you will find a complete recipe so that you can prepare it at home for a special occasion.
Ingredients for the Paella Mixta Recipe (6 people):
- 600 g of rice
- 1200 ml paella stock
- 400 g chicken meat
- 300 g of pork meat (chops, ribs, breast…)
- 250 g shrimps/prawns
- 200 g of mussels
- 250 g green beans
- 1 large or 3 small squid
- 3 grated tomatoes
- 1 medium red pepper
- ½ onion
- 1 tbsp. sweet paprika
- A few sprigs of saffron or paella coloring
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt
- Olive oil
How to Make It:
- First clean and then dice all the vegetables to prepare the sofrito: the red peppers, the onion and the garlic clove. The meat should also be cut into equal bite size pieces. Finally, cut the squid into small pieces as well.
- Place a large pan over high heat to brown the pork and chicken. Remove the meat once it is golden and add the squid to brown it too. Once ready, add all the cut vegetables. Fry them with the squid until you obtain a very juicy and stewed sofrito. Then add the grated tomatoes. Again, the fire must be well controlled so as not to burn any of the ingredients of the paella mixta.
- Now add the paprika powder. Leave everything to fry for a few seconds. This is one of the last steps before adding the stock and rice.
- Once all the ingredients have been well cooked in the pan, add the stock. Add a little more than the recommended amount to compensate for the loss of water as the broth evaporates. Wait until the broth begins to boil strongly before the sofrito is cooked well. Also add the pork and chicken meats reserved in advance. Simmer for 15 minutes so that they are well cooked.
- You can add normal round rice or Valencia bomba rice. Add the rice so that it is evenly distributed in the paella and completely covered with water. Sometimes it may be necessary to add a little extra water. Then add the mussels and shrimp to the paella.
- You can now taste the broth and possibly add other ingredients. During the cooking phase, the rice can no longer be stirred. This is a very important rule for the preparation of any paella.
- Leave to cook for 10 minutes on high heat and the last 8 minutes on medium-low heat. The paella mixta will be ready as soon as there is no stock left in the pan and the rice is well cooked. It is recommended to let the paella rest for a few minutes before starting to eat. Valencians like to leave the paella on the heat a little longer in order to lightly toast the layer of rice at the bottom of the paella, which is called socarrat. In this case, care must be taken not to burn the rice.
