Paella Spanish Dish Recipe - Catalan-Style Mar i Muntanya

Get ready to transform your kitchen into a bustling Spanish coastal eatery! If you've been dreaming of a truly authentic paella Spanish dish recipe that brings together the best of land and sea, you've found your legendary pan. Our Catalan-style Mar i Muntanya paella is a culinary journey, promising saffron-gold rice, a crispy socarrat bottom, and a delightful mix of chicken, sausage, and fresh seafood.
This isn't just any paella; it’s a Catalan-style paella inspired by the region's famous mar i muntanya (sea-and-mountain) flavors, meticulously adapted and tested for your US home kitchen. Forget the myth that you need a special paella pan – while it helps, we’ll show you how to achieve restaurant-level results with common kitchen gear. We've cracked the code to making Spanish paella accessible and absolutely delicious, ensuring every spoonful is a taste of Catalonia.

Ingredients

• For the Rice & Broth:
• 4 cups (about 1 liter) rich chicken stock or seafood stock, warmed
• 1 ½ cups (about 300g) Bomba rice or other medium-grain Spanish rice (not arborio)
• ¼ cup (60ml) olive oil, divided
• For the Proteins (Mar i Muntanya):
• 1 lb (450g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 oz (225g) Spanish-style chorizo or good-quality pork sausage (like butifarra), sliced into ½-inch rounds
• 1 lb (450g) large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb (450g) mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 8 oz (225g) squid, cleaned and cut into rings (tentacles optional)
• For the Sofrito:
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes or 1 cup grated fresh tomatoes
• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika (dulce or pimentón de la Vera)
• For the Picada (Nut-Herb-Saffron Paste):
• ¼ cup blanched almonds
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• ½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• Pinch of saffron threads (about 20-30 threads), steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 small clove garlic
• ½ tsp salt
• For Flavor Builders & Garnishes:
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
• (Optional) ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
• (Optional) ½ cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

Directions

1. Prep the Ingredients Like a Pro: Thaw and clean your seafood, patting everything thoroughly dry with paper towels. If using fresh mussels, soak them in cold water for 15-20 minutes, then scrub and de-beard. Measure out your warm stock and set it aside. Chop all vegetables for the sofrito and cut your chicken and sausage. Having everything ready (mise-en-place) makes cooking much smoother!
2. Build the Sofrito: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide, shallow 12-14 inch skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and red bell pepper and sweat them gently until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and smoked paprika, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and looks jammy and brick-red, about 10-15 minutes. This is your flavor base!
3. Toast the Nut Picada + Rice: While the sofrito is cooking, in a dry small skillet, toast the almonds and pine nuts over medium-low heat until lightly golden and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn them! Transfer the toasted nuts, chopped parsley, saffron (with its steeping water), small garlic clove, and salt to a small food processor or mortar and pestle. Blitz or grind until a coarse paste forms. Set aside. Once your sofrito is ready, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Add the rice, stirring it through the sofrito until every grain is coated and slightly translucent at the edges, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add Stock & Build the Base: Pour the hot stock into the pan. Give the pan a gentle shake to level the rice, but do not stir the rice again after this point. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil). Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Layer in the Chicken & Sausage: While the rice is simmering, quickly brown your chicken pieces and sausage slices in a separate pan with a touch of olive oil. They don't need to be cooked through, just nicely colored. Nestle the pre-browned chicken and sausage pieces into the rice, distributing them evenly. Season lightly with salt and pepper, remembering that your stock and sausage likely have salt already.
6. Add the Seafood & Finish Cooking: Continue to simmer the paella gently. When most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is nearly tender (after about 10-15 more minutes of simmering), arrange the shrimp, mussels, and squid on top of the rice. If using, scatter the optional peas and artichoke hearts. Cover the pan loosely with foil and continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and opaque, the mussels have fully opened, and the squid is tender. Discard any mussels that do not open.
7. Create the Socarrat (Crispy Bottom): This is the magic! Once the seafood is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed, remove the foil. Gently increase the heat to medium-high for the last 2-4 minutes. Listen for a gentle crackling sound – this indicates the rice at the bottom is caramelizing and forming the coveted socarrat. You might see wisps of steam escaping. Be careful not to burn it! You can carefully tilt the pan to peek at the bottom.
8. Rest, Garnish & Serve: Remove the paella from the heat. Cover the pan tightly with foil or a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the steam to finish cooking the rice and helps the flavors meld. Garnish generously with fresh chopped parsley and lemon wedges. Bring the entire pan straight to the table and serve family-style!