PAELLA😍

Y’ALL - after over 20 years watching my grandma making paella I have FINALLY gotten her recipe written down and it’s honest to god the best Paella I have ever had. It may be a bit intimidating if it’s your first time making Paella as it is a labor of love, but WELL worth it. Invite some friends and family over and make a day of it, because there’s not many dishes that can bring people together as well as a nice big pan of Paella. Can’t wait to see y’all make this!

What is Paella?

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish originating from Valencia on the east coast of Spain. It was traditionally a lunch time meal eaten by farmers, who cooked the rice and whatever ingredients they had on hand over a wood fire. The term “paella” actually refers to the pan itself.

Tips before you start:

METHOD OF COOKING:

The way we cook paella is starting with cooking the broth in a pot over the stovetop. Then we make the actual paella in a paella pan on the grill. The reason I like using the grill is because typically your paella pan will be larger than your stovetop burner. It’s also easiest when it’s simmered because you can just close the lid of the grill instead of having to have a lid large enough to fit your pan.

You can absolutely make this all in one pan on the stovetop, you may just need to use 2 burners to ensure most of the paella pan is over heat. I would still recommend starting with the pot and then moving over to the paella pan because of the ease in cooking the broth in a large pot vs paella pan. Also make sure you have a lid large enough to cover your paella pan!

THE RIGHT PAN:

Obviously the best pan to use here is a paella pan, as it is like a wide shallow skillet. You can find one similar to the one I have here. Depending on how many people you plan on serving, you want to find something between a 14” (serves 2-4) and a 16” pan (serves 4-6). If you are not using a grill, you will also want to make sure you have a lid that fits your pan.

If you do not have a paella pan, you can also use a large high sided skillet, but you may need to cut the recipe in half. You don’t want the paella to be taller than about an inch once it’s added to the pan.

SOFRITO:

Spanish sofrito is typically garlic, onion, tomatoes, and peppers cooked in olive oil. This is the base of the dish and starts the flavor process, so don’t skip it!

IMPROVISE:

There are 50000 different ways to make Paella. The combination of the seafood and the chicken is our family’s favorite way, and in my opinion the most delicious LOL but many other forms of paella exist. Use what you like in this! If you want to do just chicken and vegetables, do that! Just remember the less ingredients you include, the more flavor you will need to add.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS:

Use this recipe as a guide, but rely on your instincts! If your rice looks dry, add liquid. If the broth is not as flavorful when you taste it, season it or add more tomato sauce. Your instincts are going to be how you succeed with this dish!

And remember, not that many Spaniards truly know how to make a paella. It’s not an easy dish and it does take practice. If you don’t get it perfectly on the first try, don’t sweat it! It’s just food :) But maybe don’t invite your in laws over for dinner if it is your first time ;)

Let’s Talk Ingredients:

PAELLA RICE:

Paella is a rice dish, and the type of rice you use does make a difference. The most traditional rice used is Bomba Rice, which is a short grain rice that absorbs liquid well. It is a bit harder to find, but can be found on Amazon here. I don’t recommend for substituting for any other kind of rice, but if you absolutely have to, you can use a similar short grain rice, but you may need to adjust liquid levels.

Once you add the rice, do not stir it at any moment! As the rice cooks, the rice touching the pan will get golden brown and slightly crispy. This is called socarrat and is beloved by many Paella fans. The amount of socarrat is up to individual taste and can be adjusted by the cooking time at the end (I typically do between 3-5 minutes at the end with the heat cranked up).

THE STOCK:

The broth for paella is arguably one of the most important parts of the whole dish, as it gives the rice it’s flavor! We use seafood stock, but you can substitute for chicken stock. Don’t skip the fresh mussels btw, this gives a really delicious umami flavor to the broth!

Tip from my grandma: if you can find it, add the juice from a can of mussels to the paella to add an additional boost of flavor.

SAFFRON:

Saffron is most traditional to paella, but it is quite pricey. Even many Spanish people do not use Saffron in their Paella because of the price. A cheaper substitute would be turmeric, or like my family does, a yellow powdered food coloring like this one here. The saffron/coloring paired with the tomatoes gives paella it’s traditional yellow color.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

For the Traditional Spanish Paella:

• 2½ cups bomba rice (do not rinse)

• 2½ cups water

• 3 cups seafood stock (can sub for chicken stock as long as you are adding mussels)

• ¼ cup pureed tomatoes

• 8 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ medium onion, chopped 

• 3 roma tomatoes, chopped

• 1 small guindilla pepper (can substitute for ½ green bell pepper), chopped

• ½ lb shrimp (we use peeled and deveined, but you can use whole as well)

• ½ lb calamari, cut into 1” strips

• 1 lbs fresh mussels

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

• 2 skinless chicken drumsticks

• 3 bay leaves

• 20 threads saffron (can substitute for 1 tsp turmeric or yellow food coloring)

• ¼ cup olive oil + 3 tbsps

• 1 can mussels with the sauce (optional, but the sauce adds a great level of flavor to the dish)

• Salt to taste

For the Quick Aioli:

(Great accompaniment for paella or to dip bread in as an appetizer!)

• 1 cup mayonnaise 

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• ½ juice from 1 lemon

• Salt to taste

Directions:

For the Traditional Spanish Paella:

• In a large pot on medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in 2 tbsps olive oil for 2-3 minutes until soft.

• Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and ¼ cup olive oil. Season with a small pinch of salt.

• Make a slit in the chicken drumsticks to expose the bone. This will allow it to cook all the way through.

• Season the chicken thighs and drumsticks with salt.

• After the tomatoes have been cooking for 3-4 minutes, add the chicken and the guindilla pepper.

• Cook 1-2 minutes on high, then cover and reduce to medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.

• Uncover and flip the chicken. 

• Add fresh mussels, cover, and cook until opened, about 10 minutes.

• Add the calamari, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir.

• Add water, saffron or turmeric, and tomato sauce.

• Cover and cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes.

• Taste and season the broth with a pinch of salt. If the broth is not a deep yellow color, add more tomato sauce, turmeric, or saffron. Shut off heat and remove the chicken and mussels, opening the mussels and tossing the shell that does not have a mussel in it.

• This is where we transferred over to the grill. You can cook this on a stove-top, but depending on the size of your paella pan, your pan may be wider than your burner, which may cause unevenly cooked rice. The following includes instructions for the grill, but it’s the same instructions as for stove-top.

• Turn your grill to high heat and preheat for 5 minutes with the lid closed. For stove-top, just add the paella pan to a burner and bring to high heat.

• Add your paella pan to the grill and once hot, add in 1 tbsp olive oil and the shrimp.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, then remove the shrimp and set aside.

• Add the rice in a star form, ensuring the rice is evenly spread out among the bottom on the paella pan. Do not stir!

• Add the broth from the pot and the seafood stock. It should be about a 2:1 broth to rice ratio with just a little more.

• Add the chicken and the can of mussels. If there are fresh mussels that did not open in the first cooking process, add them at this stage.

• Close the lid and cook on high for 10 minutes. 

• If the rice looks a little dry, add a bit more broth. It’s important to not stir the rice add any point in the process!

• Reduce heat to low and add the ingredients from the pot and the shrimp in an even spread out layer. Add the mussels around the edges.

• Close the lid and cook for 10 more minutes on low heat.

• At the end, crank the heat up to high for 3 minutes, 5 if you want more of a crunchy rice at the bottom (this is called socarrat)*.

• Shut off the heat of the grill, keep the lid closed, and cook another 8 minutes.

• Meanwhile, make your aioli by mixing the mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated garlic and a pinch of salt. 

• Serve the paella with extra lemon slices and the aioli and enjoy! For a great pairing, try my Sangria recipe here.

*As the paella cooks, the rice directly touching the pan gets golden and crispy. This is called socarrat and is beloved by many paella lovers. Depending on how much “crunchy rice” you like, cook for either 3 or 5 minutes at this stage.

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