NEW YORK – Allow me to begin this paean to paella by extending my sympathy for the subpar examples you have almost certainly endured in the past. When it comes to food, I tend to abjure rule-making as a limit to experience. But when it comes to restaurant-prepared paella – even and perhaps especially in Spain – you really should just say no. It is not impossible that a dining establishment could create a good paella, but such a thing is rare: The dish cannot be easily prepped in parts ahead of time, nor does it keep its luster long after initial completion. This is why better restaurants will require you to call some time ahead, or be prepared to wait for about 40 minutes, for fresh paella. (Run in terror from any menu that features it in a fast-foody looking picture.) Of course, even an honest eatery will charge at least $25 for the dish – a pretty penny that could, theoretically, be worth it, but that is far more likely to have bought you a warmed-over wasteland of Zatarain’s boxed rice strewn with sad, sandy mussels and peas wrinkled in self-disgust.
The thing I am subtly hinting at in all this restaurant-bashing is that you should be making paella at home. It is, after all, the Spanish equivalent of barbecue food, what denizens of towns like Córdoba lazily cook up over grills and open fires when they escape to their family mountain picnic hut for perol on Sundays and holidays. This cultural detail contains another clue: Though paella can be wonderfully fancy and expensive when gilded with lobster tails and rabbit haunches, a cheaper, rustic version is in some ways more traditional. Indeed, assuming you have a few Spanish staples in your pantry, the version that I will advance here could feed four for less than $10.
So let’s talk about that version. I favor a mar i muntanya approach, a bracing mixture of creatures from the sea and the mountain (i.e., the land) that, chintzy “surf and turf” platters aside, is relatively uncommon in America but is a specialty of Catalan cuisine. In this instance, we will use chicken, squid and sausage, easily procured proteins that, when combined, are as novel as they are inexpensive. I also want to advocate for reconceptualizing paella as a delightful weeknight meal rather than a showpiece reserved for large groups and special occasions. Adorned and scaled appropriately, it can absolutely be the latter thing. But the approach presented here is meant to provide two to four people with a hearty summer dinner without requiring exceptional effort or time on the part of the cook.
And did I mention you can cook it on the grill? In fact, you will probably obtain a better socarrat – a layer of crispy, caramelized rice on the bottom – that way. Note, though, that the heating instructions in the recipe below were tested on a gas range. If you don’t get a great socarrat, don’t worry – it’s really just extra icing on the paella cake.