National Dish Spain: Paella (Recipe)
In this article
Paella is Valencian, and Valencians are firm about what belongs in it: rabbit, chicken, green beans, garrofó beans, tomato, saffron. Not chorizo. The mixed seafood-and-meat version most of the world eats is paella mixta, which Valencia regards as a tourist dish.
About Paella
The name is the pan. Paella is cooked wide and shallow so the rice sits in a thin layer, absorbs all the liquid and forms socarrat, the toasted crust at the bottom that is the whole objective.
It is not stirred once the liquid goes in. Stirring makes risotto, which is a different and also good dish.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200 g rice (ideally short-grain, bomba or calasparra)
- 300 g chicken breast fillet, diced
- 150 g prawns, peeled and deveined
- 150 g mussels, cleaned
- 100 g green beans, trimmed
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 onion
- A pinch of saffron
- 500 ml stock
- Olive oil, salt and pepper
Shopping for the ingredients
Bomba or Calasparra rice, which absorb three times their volume without collapsing. Real saffron threads, steeped in a little warm stock. A wide shallow pan, wider than you think: the rice should be no more than two centimetres deep.
Preparing the dish
Steep the saffron. Get the pan properly hot and brown the meat first. Once the stock goes in, do not stir, do not cover, and do not move the pan. Rice depth is the single most important variable and most home paellas fail because the pan is too small.
Step-by-step instructions
- Steep the saffron in a little warm stock.
- Heat olive oil in a wide shallow pan and brown the diced chicken until golden; push to the edges.
- Add the chopped onion, peppers and green beans and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir for 1 minute so it is coated, then spread it in an even layer.
- Pour in the stock with the saffron, season, and bring to a boil. Do not stir again.
- Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, then reduce and cook 8 minutes more.
- Add the prawns and mussels in the last 5 minutes, pressing them into the rice.
- Raise the heat for the final minute to form the socarrat, then rest 5 minutes covered with a cloth.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Paella is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. Check the stock. Nothing else needs adapting.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Paella de verduras is a real Valencian dish: artichoke, green beans, garrofó, red pepper and rosemary in a vegetable stock. It is not a compromise, and it is on menus throughout the region. Espinacas con garbanzos is the other classic.
More tips and tricks
Use a pan wide enough that the rice is two centimetres deep or less. Do not stir after the stock goes in. Do not cover it while cooking. And listen for the socarrat: it crackles when it is forming, and you take the pan off just after.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Rabbit and chicken with green beans and garrofó is the Valencian original. Seafood only is paella de marisco. Rosemary and a snail or two are traditional inland. Adding chorizo will start an argument.
Ingredient substitutions
Bomba is best, Arborio is an acceptable substitute, long-grain is not. Butter beans replace garrofó. Turmeric gives colour but not the flavour of saffron.
Drink pairing ideas
A Valencian white or a dry rosé from Utiel-Requena. Cava works. Sangría is what tourists drink and Spaniards mostly do not.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in the pan, on the table, and let people eat from the section in front of them with a spoon. That is the Valencian way and it is not affectation. Lemon wedges divide opinion; Valencians largely disapprove.
A bit of history
Paella comes from the rice fields of the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, and it was farmworkers’ food cooked over an open fire of orange wood. Its global spread produced versions that Valencians consider abominations, and in 2021 a group of Valencian chefs published a formal definition in response. It anchors Spanish cuisine abroad, whatever the rest of Spain eats.
More recipe ideas
- Almejas con Jamón
- Almejas en Salsa Verde
- Caldereta de Marisco
- Fabes con Almejas
- Merluza en Salsa Verde
- Rape al Horno
Summary: Paella
Paella is rice cooked flat in a wide pan with saffron stock until it forms a toasted crust underneath. Use a wide pan, keep the rice shallow, never stir, and listen for the socarrat.
