Chef Joan Casas’ Paella Recipe

The unconventional combination of meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and rice in this paella recipe give the dish subtle flavors and wonderful complexity
Chef Joan Casas’ Paella Recipe

By Mark Hinds | Updated January 28, 2025

Chef Joan Casas’ Paella recipe has the kind of unique twists and turns that can only come from someone who has made thousands of paellas over the years. 

For this paella, he uses Calasparra rice and a sofrito of chopped onion, garlic, and tomatoes to deliver deep rich flavors.

Chef Joan Casas
Chef Joan Casas and his crew making paella

This unconventional combination of meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and rice, nuanced by the subtle taste of saffron, creates a dish of wonderful complexity, with diverse flavors and textures. Don’t be surprised when your guests want second helpings!

When making this paella, we recommend you follow his advice to not hurry too much, especially when you’re making the sofrito, and to have a glass or two of wine.

It also helps if you follow the traditional rule for paella to “first, cook the animal that walks, then add the animal that flies, and then add the animal that swims.”

You can read more tips in A Spanish Chef’s Secrets for a Perfect Paella.

Chef Joan Casas’ Paella Recipe

Chef Joan Casas’ Paella Recipe

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Ingredients

  • 20 shrimp
  • 10 clams
  • 10 mussels
  • 10 salchicha Catalana
  • 500 grams pork
  • 500 grams chicken
  • 500 grams rabbit, optional
  • 150 grams red pepper
  • 150 grams green pepper
  • 300 grams sofrito, (onions, garlic, tomatoes)
  • 1 kg Calasparra rice
  • 2 lt fish stock
  • 2 lt chicken stock
  • 2 grams saffron
  • 150 grams sweet peas
  • 150 grams green beans
  • 500 grams sea bass
  • 1/4 liter olive oil

Instructions

  • In a large paella pan, cook the shrimp and sea bass until they are just done. Remove and set aside.
  • Make a sofrito from the onions, tomatoes, and garlic, allowing it to cook for a while to deepen its flavor.
  • Add the rice and olive oil, making sure the rice is well coated with oil. Add the stock and saffron and bring everything to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let the rice cook without stirring. This helps the rice form a soccrat, which is when it caramelizes on the bottom of the pan.
  • As the rice starts to absorb the liquid add the rabbit, pork, chicken, and sausage based on the amount of time they will take to cook.
  • Then add the red and green peppers, sweet peas, and green beans.
  • When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid add the mussels and clams.
  • Add the cooked seafood back to the paella before serving.

Notes

Salchicha Catalana is a white Catalan sausage.
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate based on available ingredients and preparation.

Mark is an experienced food writer, recipe developer, and photographer who is also Umami’s publisher and CEO. A passionate cook who loves to cook for friends, he can often be found in the kitchen or by the grill testing new recipes.

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