How to make next level paella
Serve up the perfect paella with our 10 top tips. This fragrant one-pan Spanish dish of rice and seafood evokes summer, sunshine and al fresco dining.
One of the most recreated holiday dishes, paella is a recipe that can cause arguments among the Spanish without us getting involved. But despite frequent disagreements over the best way to make the genuine article, there are a few key elements that make up a paella – after that it’s fair game, with each cook adding their own stamp. What we’ve tried to create is something we’ve come to think of as paella, even if it is a little turistica.
This traditional rice and seafood dish is as much about the shopping as the preparation, and once you’ve got the right components, the cooking and serving are easy. A good paella relies heavily on the right ingredients, with a great stock at its base. Getting good fresh stock is hard so we’ve come up with a quick solution to making your own. In our next level paella recipe, we've kept the key ingredients authentic but still taken a few liberties in the name of ease and flavour.
Discover even more delicious Spanish eats with our top 10 foods to try in Spain.
10 tips for the perfect paella
1. The right rice
2. The perfect pan
3. Homemade seafood stock
4. Spanish saffron
5. Controversial chorizo
6. Ripe summer tomatoes
7. The freshest seafood
8. Simmered not stirred
9. Smoke without fire
10. Serve warm, not hot
1. The right rice
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As the main ingredient, it’s worth hunting down paella rice (also known as bomba or Calasparra rice). This highly absorbent short-grain Spanish variety will give you the authentic ‘sticky rice’ finish.
2. The perfect pan
A paella pan is a wide, shallow, flat-bottomed pan that cooks the rice in a thin layer. If you don’t have one, a large frying pan makes a decent substitute.
3. Homemade seafood stock
Great paella relies on great stock – here we’ve made our own with the prawn heads and cooking juices from the mussels.
4. Spanish saffron
If you’re after authenticity in a seafood paella then you have to add saffron for colour and flavour. Spanish saffron should be bought as strands, not powdered, and it needs to be steeped in liquid so it's evenly distributed. Yes, it’s an expensive spice but a little goes a long way.
5. Controversial chorizo
Okay, chorizo isn’t authentic in a seafood paella, but it’s an easy way of adding the flavour of smoked paprika without buying a jar – and let’s face it, a touch of chorizo in any dish is never a bad thing.
6. Ripe summer tomatoes
Chopped fresh, very ripe tomatoes are best, but if you’re making paella out of season, use a 200g tin of chopped tomatoes. Anything more and the tomato becomes too prominent.
7. The freshest seafood
Use whichever seafood is available to you. If you can only buy frozen, use that and 700ml of fresh fish stock, instead of the prawn head and mussel stock.
8. Simmered not stirred
For the best finished texture, try and stir the rice as little as possible. Over-stirring will release the rice starch and give the dish more of a creamy, risotto texture. True paella greatness has a slight crust on the bottom called socarrat which can only be achieved by not stirring.
9. Smoke without fire
The best paellas are cooked over bonfire embers. To recreate that smoky flavour at home without getting the barbecue out, season the finished dish with smoked sea salt.
10. Serve warm, not hot
For all the different flavours in the paella to truly sing, it’s best eaten warm, not hot. Leave it to cool a little after cooking.
See the full recipe for our next level paella.
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Which ingredients do you think make the perfect paella? Leave a comment below...
