Step 1 of 10
Heat the olive oil in a 38 cm paella pan (or wide shallow pan) over medium-high heat. Season chicken and rabbit. Brown all over in a single layer, 8 minutes. Move pieces to the edge of the pan.
Step 2 of 10
Add the green beans to the centre. Stir 3 minutes until they start to take colour. Push to the edge.
Step 3 of 10
Add grated tomato to the empty middle. Cook down, stirring, until the tomato darkens and the oil starts to separate, 4 minutes.
Step 4 of 10
Stir in pimentón off the heat (it burns in 5 seconds at heat). Return the pan to medium. Add the garrofó beans.
Step 5 of 10
Pour in the hot stock. Add salt, the crumbled toasted saffron, and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Taste — the broth should be slightly over-salted; the rice will absorb it back.
Step 6 of 10
Scatter the rice evenly across the pan in a single layer. After this point — do not stir. Stirring releases starch and ruins the texture you're going for.
Step 7 of 10
Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes — the broth should be bubbling vigorously across the whole pan.
Step 8 of 10
Drop the heat to medium-low. Continue 8 more minutes. The liquid should disappear; the rice surface should be just visible and looking dry.
Step 9 of 10
Crank heat back to high for 60 seconds — listen for a faint crackle. This is the *socarrat* — the caramelised rice layer at the bottom. Don't let it burn — pull the pan when you smell toasted rice.
Step 10 of 10
Off heat. Cover loosely with a tea towel and rest 5 minutes. Carry the whole pan to the table; serve from the pan with a wooden spoon, making sure everyone gets some socarrat.
Ingredients 12
the rice
- 300 g Bomba or Calasparra rice
- 900 ml hot chicken stock
- 1.5 tsp fine sea salt
the meat
- 500 g chicken thighs, bone-in, cut into 5 cm pieces
- 500 g rabbit, cut into 5 cm pieces (or another 500 g chicken if you can't find rabbit)
the vegetables
- 200 g flat green beans (ferraúra, or Romano beans), topped
- 100 g fresh garrofó (lima beans), or 75 g dried, soaked
the sofrito
- 1 ripe tomato, grated (skin discarded)
- Generous pinch (about 0.5 g) saffron threads
- 1 tbsp sweet pimentón (smoked Spanish paprika)
- 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
the finish
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary