The Spanish Table Paella Recipe
We get asked how to make Paella every single day. This recipe is complete with all ingredients and instructions for beginners and experts alike. For parties from 2 to 200.
The Famous Spanish Table Paella
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Category
Paella
Cuisine
Spanish
Servings
1
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
There are many, many paella recipes. Originally paella was a dish made in Valencia using chicken, rabbit, snails and three kinds of fresh beans. Now, paella is almost always associated with seafood, chicken and vegetables. There is no right or wrong recipe, only the recipe that pleases you. Paella ingredients vary from place to place, and time to time, depending on local traditions and the ingredients available. Anything from fresh garden produce to holiday left-overs can inspire a cook to create an original version of this one-dish feast! The dish was named after the pan it is cooked in, a Paellera, which is also used for a variety of rice dishes, such as arroz negro, as well as the Spanish pasta dish: fideua.
This is only one recipe, use your imagination and the ingredients at hand, varying the ingredients can make Paella an everyday dish.
Please note that all ingredient portions are PER PERSON, therefore please multiply each ingredient amount listed by the number of people you intend to serve. For an 8-person paella, for example, you will need 8 x 1/3 cup or 2 2/3 cups of Bomba rice. For reference, each 1kg bag of Bomba rice contains 20 1/3 cup servings.
Author:The Spanish Table
Ingredients
-
½ cup uncooked Valencian Rice per person or 1/3 cup if using Bomba
-
1 cup chicken stock per person
-
5 threads saffron per person dissolved in a little white wine
-
4 tablespoons, or more, olive oil, to cover bottom of pan
- 1 piece of chicken, such as a thigh, per person
-
½ to 1 soft chorizo, such as Bilbao or Palacios, per person
-
½ teaspoon Spanish sweet pimenton (paprika) per person
- 1 clove garlic per person, minced
- ¼ cup chopped onion per person
-
⅛ cup grated tomato (cut in half, grate and discard the skin) per person, or if you like it easier, the same amount of Ferrer Sofrito
- 2 shrimp or prawns per person
- 2-4 small clams and/or mussels per person
-
red piquillo peppers cut in strips
- artichoke hearts, green beans or peas
-
cooked white Spanish beans such as alubias de la granja or judion
- lemon wedges for garnish
- salt to taste
Directions
Heat stock in a separate stock pot. If making paella the genuine Valencian way, skip this step (see modifications)
Crush saffron and add it to stock or a little bit of white wine. If making paella the genuine Valencian way, skip this step (see modifications)
- Heat paella pan over medium heat, add olive oil and fry chicken until it begins to brown.
- Next add garlic and onions and saute until translucent.
Add chorizo and cook until heated.
Add the rice, stirring until well coated with oil. If making paella the genuine Valencian way, skip this step (see modifications)
Add the paprika and grated tomato. Stir while cooking for a few minutes.
Add saffron flavored wine and hot stock. If making paella the genuine Valencian way, you will add the broth to the pan now and heat everything in the pan until the broth comes to a boil.
- Bring to a boil while scraping the bottom of pan. Now the rice should be level and you will not need to stir from this point on.
- Adjust heat to maintain a nice simmer. When the rice has absorbed a good amount of liquid but still has a soupy appearance add the mussels or clams.
- Once the rice is cooked add the shrimp or prawns tucking them down into the rice, then the piquillo peppers, artichoke hearts, green beans, beans and peas.
- During this time the rice should be caramelizing on the bottom of the pan or creating what is called the socarrat. It will make a faint crackling sound and smell toasty sweet but not burnt.
- Set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
Recipe Note
A popular alternative is the genuine Valencian way. In this method, you would not heat the broth separately. You would start by sautéing all your ingredients except the rice in the paella pan as per the recipe above. Once you have all of the ingredients ready, you would add the broth, any wine or sherry, and the saffron to your paella pan and bring the broth to a boil. Once the broth starts to boil, add the rice to the pan, either by evenly sprinkling it all across the pan, or by pouring it into the pan in two perpendicular lines making an X, then distributing it from there with your spoon.
