La Paella Ingredients

You can make a delicious, authentic Paella–the most popular dish of Spain–in your own kitchen with simple ingredients like rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood. If you love cooking International food, you will fall in love with this comforting dish! 

My goal with this paella recipe was to use the tutelage I received while living in Madrid to create a traditional Spanish paella that anyone can make (and without special equipment, like a paella pan). After lots of trial and error, I am so excited to share everything I know and have learned about making Paella, as authentically and practically for the home cook, as possible.

Seafood

Paella (pai · ei · uh) is a classic Spanish rice dish made with rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood cooked and served in one pan. Although paella originates from Valencia, it’s recognized as the national food of Spain and there are several different varieties. The most common types of paella are chicken paella, seafood paella, or mixed paella (a combination of seafood, meats, and vegetables).

Grilled Paella Recipe

The main ingredients in every paella dish are rice, saffron, chicken, and vegetables.  From there, ingredients vary depending on the type of paella or region where it’s made.  The ingredients in this easy paella recipe include:

1. Sauté:  Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add chopped tomato, bay leaf, paprika, saffron, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add broth.  Pour the broth slowly all around the pan and jiggle the pan to get the rice into an even layer. (Do not stir the mixture going forward!). Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Give the pan a gentle shake back and forth once or twice during cooking.

The Best Spanish Seafood Paella 🥘 Recipe

5. Cook uncovered: Cook paella uncovered for 15-18 minutes, then nestle the shrimp, mussels and calamari into the mixture, sprinkle peas on top and continue to cook (without stirring) for about 5 more minutes. Watch for most of the liquid to be absorbed and the rice at the top nearly tender.

6. Cover and let rest.  Remove pan from heat and cover pan with a lid or tinfoil. Place a kitchen towel over the lid and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Spanish rice (also called “bomba” rice, calaspara rice, arroz redonda) is traditional in Paella, and it’s what I recommend using. It’s a short grain rice that absorbs more water than regular rice, without turning mushy. You can buy Spanish rice on Amazon, World Market or an international food market.

Authentic Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

If you don’t like seafood, leave it out and substitute more chicken and vegetables. You can use any combination of your favorite seafood including clams, scallops and chopped pieces of fish. Frozen seafood is a great accessible option if you don’t live near the ocean. (Costco sells a great mixed seafood bag in their freezer section with shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops, and calamari.) Be sure to thaw frozen seafood in the fridge overnight before using.

When buying fresh seafood make sure to smell it to make sure it’s fresh. It should not have a strong fishy odor. Most of the seafood used here will smell like nothing, or just like the ocean (slightly salty). Be sure to clean it properly (remove “beards” from mussels, if necessary).

No, you can us a regular large skillet to make Paella (I use a 12×2 inch skillet and this recipe fills it to the brim). Traditional paella is cooked in a large paella pan because it allow the rice to be spread out into a thin layer and cook more evenly.

Authentic Spanish Catering For Parties And Events In Florida

You can make a delicious, authentic Paella--the most popular dish of Spain--in your own kitchen with simple ingredients like rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood.

*Rice: Spanish rice (also called “bomba” rice, calaspara rice, arroz redonda) is traditional in Paella, and it’s what I recommend using. (If your grocery store doesn't carry it, try Amazon, World Market, or an International food market). If necessary you can substitute medium grain rice, like Calrose rice which can be found at Walmart or most grocery stores, and reduce the broth to 3 ¾ cups. (I don’t recommend using Arborio rice or long-grain rice for Paella).

*Broth: Authentic paella would include making your own fish stock from the discard shells of seafood. I usually substitute chicken broth for convenience.

La Paella: Recipes For Delicious Spanish Rice And Noodle Dishes: Pickford, Louise: 9781788792363: Amazon.com: Books

*Seafood: If you don’t like seafood, leave it out and substitute more chicken or vegetables. You can use any combination of your favorite seafood including clams, scallops and chopped pieces of fish. Frozen seafood is a great accessible option if you don’t live near the ocean. (Costco sells a great mixed seafood bag in their freezer section with shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops, and calamari.) Be sure to thaw frozen seafood in the fridge overnight before using. If buying fresh seafood, smell it to make sure it’s fresh. It should not have a strong fishy odor. Most of the seafood used here will smell like nothing, or just like the ocean (slightly salty). Be sure to clean it properly (remove “beards” from mussels, if necessary).

Easy

*Saffron: this may be the most important ingredient, so it’s best to buy high quality. If your grocery store doesn’t carry it, try an International food market, or Amazon. If necessary, substitute 1 teaspoon saffron powder.

Calories: 535 kcal Carbohydrates: 59 g Protein: 37 g Fat: 15 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 260 mg Sodium: 1159 mg Potassium: 805 mg Fiber: 3 g Sugar: 3 g Vitamin A: 1408 IU Vitamin C: 58 mg Calcium: 125 mg Iron: 4 mg

Paella Authentic Recipe

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.What is the most authentic Spanish paella recipe? It's a controversial subject! But this classic paella valenciana recipe is the traditional chicken paella that many call the original. It combines chicken and either pork ribs or rabbit (your choice!) with green beans, butter beans, garlic, paprika, and saffron.

If you love paella, you'll definitely want to try my recipes for seafood paella, black paella, vegetable paella, and prawn and chorizo paella (my mother-in-law's favorite).

Unfortunately, most paellas served across Spain are bad copies of the real thing. Their artifical neon yellow color comes from food coloring rather than saffron, and the rice is piled high to conceal the overcooked shrimp mixed in.

Brown Rice Shrimp Paella Recipe With Chorizo

Most visitors to Spain think that paella is a mix of seafood and meat. While this version does exist, there are many regional variations of paella, and they feature only a few key ingredients, as the rice itself is supposed to be the star of the show. You can read more about the history of paella if you're curious.

Contrary to popular belief, the traditional version of paella from Valencia doesn't contain seafood! While the most well-known versions of the dish include shrimp and mussels, traditional

Spanish

Is made with chicken and rabbit (and often snails), and is spiced with sweet paprika and a few strands of golden saffron.

Authentic Seafood Paella Recipe With Saffron • Hip Foodie Mom

A mark of a good paella is thesocarrat. The slow, undisturbed simmering of the rice in broth means that the bottom layer will start to caramelize, and it’s this crispy base of rice that makes paella a taste sensation! Keep reading for tips on how to get socarrat.

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

6. Add the butter beans. (If you're using jarred butter beans, be careful not to break them.) Gently toss the beans in the oil and garlic, then

Paella De Carne

(loosen all of the stuck bits below). Use a wooden spoon to scrape off all these flavorful bits and incorporate them into the dish.

9. Add the saffron. Make sure to infuse this in a couple tablespoons (30-45 ml) of boiling water for at least 10 minutes prior to adding.

11. Insert a toothpick (or wooden spoon handle) into the center of the pan. See the water mark on the toothpick? This is the perfect amount of liquid you'll need to cook the rice.

Weeknight

Easy Paella Recipe With Yellow Rice

13. Add the other 4 cups (960 ml) of water. Boil for about 10 minutes, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. There should be 5 cups of water left in the pan (the amount needed to make rice for 4 people). Check by using your toothpick;

No matter how tempted you are! This is key to making sure the rice cooks properly and doesn't release tons of starch.

15. Cook the rice on medium-high for the first 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. The exact cook time depends on the variety of rice (for reference, Bomba rice takes 20 minutes in total).

Spanish Paella De Marisco Recipe (seafood Paella)

, is forming. Once you hear this, turn the heat up for about 30 seconds, but make sure to stop and turn off the heat if you smell burning!

Then let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve the paella family-style--directly out of the pan using a wooden spoon. If