For our entrée, we’ll make our quest to blend sea and land and go with one of the most internationally famous dishes of Spain, which is paella, and in our case, Iberian Chicken and Shrimp Mixed Paella. Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella (Spanish: paella valenciana), seafood paella (Spanish: paella de marisco) and mixed paella (Spanish: paella mixta), but there are many others as well. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck), snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables and sometimes beans. Focusing primarily on seafood, we will also include a bit of meat or tofu, some green and red vegetables, and mixed types of wild rice seasoned with saffron and broth. Essentially, this is a one-pan Mediterranean diet! Now, the traditional cooking method is to put all the ingredients in a large 2-handled metal pot and cook it on a grill over an open fire. If you have access to a fire-pit with a grill, go for it! But you certainly can cook it on the top of your stove too.

Onward to cooking our scrumptious Iberian Chicken and Shrimp Mixed Paella:

Iberian Chicken and Shrimp Mixed Paella:

Ingredients:

6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 chicken or turkey sausage, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 can organic tomatoes, diced
3 red and/or green bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced
1/4 tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 pound crab meat
2 1/2 cups mixed rice (brown and wild)
3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron
18 uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound fresh snap peas, half still in pods, half removed from pods
2 TBSP capers

Preparation:

• Heat 2 TBSP the olive oil in a pan, add sausage, and brown all sides. Mix in the tomato, garlic, onions, and bell peppers, stirring until cooked then put those aside.
• In another pan, heat 2 more TBSP olive oil and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, tarragon, thyme, rosemary and cumin. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside. In the same pan, cook the crab meat over medium-high heat for several minutes
• Preheat the oven to 225 ºF. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a skillet, and sauté the rice for about 3 minutes. Pour in the broth, and combine well. Add the sausage mixture and the saffron and continue to stir until well mixed.
• Transfer the rice into a paella pan. Mix in the crab, chicken, shrimp, peas, and capers, combining well. Bake the paella, uncovered, and on the lowest oven shelf, for around 20-25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve the paella straight from the pan onto each plate.