Spanish-Style Paella

Easter. Pascua. The second-biggest food event of the Puerto Rican year, right after Christmas, and in some houses bigger — the pernil comes out, the pasteles (if you froze enough in December to have some left, and I did, because I always plan for Easter when I plan for Christmas), the arroz con gandules, the full spread, only this time it is not cold outside, it is spring, the trees have buds, the sun is a real thing, and the energy is different. Christmas is candlelight. Easter is sunrise.

Sunday I hosted. Twelve people. Miguel Jr. and Jenny with Lucas and Isabella. Rosa and Carlos with Camila. Sofía and her friend Marisa, who is starting to feel like family, which happens — the way people just arrive at my table and keep coming and eventually nobody remembers the first time, because they are just here now, they belong. Mami. Eduardo. That is twelve.

David could not come. He was working. Easter is a big restaurant day. He called before service and we talked for eleven minutes. He was prepping eighty pernil tacos for his brunch menu — yes, pernil tacos, yes, tacos, yes, I have made peace with this and I will never fully make peace with this — and the prep team was short a person and he was running the line plus teaching two cooks, and I could hear the chaos behind his voice and I loved him for it. That kitchen is his and it is good.

We ate at 2 PM. The pasteles came out of the freezer and into the boiling water and forty minutes later they were steaming on the platter and Mami looked at them and said, "These are from December." I said, "Yes, Mami." She said, "Your grandmother would not have frozen pasteles." I said, "Abuela Consuelo did not have a freezer, Mami." She considered this. She said, "Fine. Serve me two." I served her two. She ate one and a half.

After the meal we did the Easter egg hunt in the backyard for the kids. Lucas found twelve eggs. Isabella found two, both of which Lucas had deliberately left near her because he is a good older cousin. Eduardo had hidden the eggs on Saturday in the last light and this year he forgot where three of them were and we will find those in May, stinking.

At 4 PM, Mami fell asleep in the armchair and stayed asleep for two hours. The kids played in the kitchen. Rosa and Jenny washed dishes together, two daughters-in-this-family-by-different-routes, and I overheard them comparing tips about getting babies to sleep through the night. Jenny said, "Your mother thinks I do it wrong." Rosa said, "She thinks everyone does everything wrong. She loves you. You are family." Jenny said, "I know." I eavesdropped shamelessly from the other room.

I made coffee. I cut the flan. Sofía carried it to the table. Lucas ate his flan with his hands. Easter. Wepa.

The pasteles were the heart of that Easter table, but every great spread needs something that says abundance — something golden and fragrant that you carry out of the kitchen and set down and watch people lean toward before you’ve even set it down fully. This Spanish-style paella is that dish for me on the weeks I haven’t planned ahead quite as carefully as I planned for December. It feeds a crowd, it looks like a celebration, and it smells the way Easter should smell — like saffron and warmth and the particular joy of a table that is too full, in the best way.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, sliced into rounds
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, steeped in 1/4 cup warm water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups short-grain paella rice (Bomba or Calasparra)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warm
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound littleneck clams, scrubbed
1/2 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Bloom the saffron. Combine saffron threads and 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Set aside to steep for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a 15-inch paella pan or large, wide oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear skin-side down for 5–6 minutes until golden, then flip and cook 3 more minutes. Remove to a plate; the chicken will finish cooking in the rice.
Cook the chorizo. Add chorizo to the same pan and cook over medium heat for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned and the oil runs orange. Remove to the plate with the chicken.
Build the sofrito. In the remaining fat in the pan, add onion and both bell peppers. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes until softened. Add garlic, smoked paprika, and sweet paprika; cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Stir in the drained tomatoes and cook for 3–4 minutes until the mixture deepens in color and most liquid has evaporated.
Toast the rice. Add the rice directly to the pan, stirring to coat every grain in the sofrito. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the liquids. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble and absorb, about 2 minutes. Add the warm chicken broth and the saffron with its soaking water. Stir once to distribute evenly, then do not stir again — this is how the prized socarrat (the crispy bottom crust) forms.
Nestle the chicken and chorizo. Return the browned chicken thighs and chorizo to the pan, pressing them gently into the rice. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
Add the seafood. Scatter the shrimp, clams, and mussels across the top of the rice, pressing them lightly into the surface. Scatter the frozen peas over everything. Cover the pan tightly with foil and cook for 8–10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked through and all clams and mussels have opened. Discard any shellfish that remain closed.
Rest and serve. Remove from heat and let the paella rest, still covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the foil, garnish generously with fresh parsley, and serve directly from the pan with lemon wedges alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spanish-Style Paella — The Feast Table That Brings Everyone Back