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Paella Criolla

Serves 8

Submited by Mario Reyes, W.C.M.C., C.E.C.

About the Recipe

I am sharing one of my favorite family recipes. As a child growing up in snowy Toronto, Canada, this recipe started out as a warm chicken and rice dish that my mother had waiting for us as we came home from school.  Since our family was large, my mother could put a big skillet on the table to feed us all.    This dish evolved into a paella, by adding pork and sausage, and eventually as a treat for all of us, the shrimps were added.  

My mother used to grow tomatoes, peppers and onions in the back garden and she slowly cooked them together into a sofrito sauce that was incorporated with all the rest of the ingredients, as she made this “Paella Criolla.”  This easy to make paella recipe can be made and shared with your own family for a Sunday supper.  

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1 cup boneless, skinless chicken thighs, precooked, diced 
  • 1 cup smoked sausage (or chorizo), precooked, diced 
  • 1 cup pork loin, precooked, diced  
  • ½ cup green peppers, 1½ inch diced  
  • ½ cup red peppers, ½ inch diced 
  • ½ cup red onion, ½ inch diced 
  • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced 
  • 6 cups yellow rice, cooked (or Uncle Ben’s rice cooked with turmeric) 
  • 1 cup sofrito (jarred) 
  • 1 cup shrimp, peeled, deveined  and cooked 
  • ½ cup frozen peas 

Directions

  1. In a large sauté pan, heat up olive oil. Add chicken, sausage and pork. Sauté for ~5 minutes. 
  2. Add peppers, onions and garlic. Continue to cook for a couple  more minutes.  
  3. Add cooked rice, sofrito and shrimp. Mix well with the rest of the ingredients and continue cooking on low heat for 5 minutes. Add peas. 
  4. Keep warm in oven at 200° until ready to serve. 

About the Contributor

Chef Mario Reyes began his culinary career in Toronto, Canada. He worked in many prestigious hotels such as Four Seasons, Sutton Place and King Edward Hotel. He moved to the U.S. and opened Le Meridien Hotel in Dallas, Texas. 

After many years of working in the hotel industry, he joined Nestle North America and worked with numerous chefs and food companies across the world in menu & product development and innovation. Chef Reyes is a certified Master Chef and he has competed and managed U.S. culinary teams in international competitions. 

His motivation comes form his passions for cooking, the love of people and sharing and learning with others.

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