How To Prepare A Paella Recipe… The Spanish Way! This superb one pot dinner features shrimp, veggies and all the authentic flavors of this traditional dish.
Here’s a great one pot dinner for the celebrations: Paella! This traditional Spanish rice dish has thousands of variations. but it’s still rice with an explosion of colorful toppings. This is our best classic paella recipe based on our travels around Spain! We’ve refined the skills so you can try it at home. Featuring saffron-scented rice, a mix of colorful vegetables and shrimp, it’s packed with traditional flavors. Here’s everything you need to know to make paella at home!
What types of paella are there?
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made with saffron rice topped with seafood, meat and/or vegetables and served in a shallow paella pan. There are different sizes of paella pans: small pans for two people and massive paella pans for a crowd. (Fun Fact: The largest paella in the world was made in a pan big enough for 30,000 people!)
What types of paella are there? The Spaniards themselves differ in terms of the most classic and authentic paella recipe. Alex and I have eaten paella in Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid and they were all very different. There are four main types of paella:
- Paella with seafood: Seafood paella with prawns, prawns, scallops or mussels
- Mixed paella: A mixed paella with seafood, meat and vegetables
- Valencian Paella (Valencian Paella): Chicken, rabbit, garrofó (a variety of lima beans), saffron and rosemary
- Green paella: Vegetarian paella with only vegetables
Ingredients for this paella recipe
For our better Paella Recipe we used the common elements in the paella recipes that we had in different regions of Spain. The following is presented in this paella:
- Traditional paella pan: You can also use a frying pan (see below)
- rice bomb: You can also use arborio
- Tomato, onion and garlic Make a quick sofrito
- saffron and allspice aka smoked paprika
- Mixed vegetables such as artichokes, peppers and peas
- seafood: You can also prepare a vegetarian paella (see below)
- lemon slices: Lemon Garnish is the perfect glossy finish
What is the best paella pan? Do you need to use one?
A paella pan is a large, round, shallow pan with handles used to cook paella. The flat shape allows the rice to cook evenly and dry out more than in a pan. If you have a paella pan or want one, now is the time to use it! This recipe is for a 15-inch paella pan for 4 people. If you are looking for one, here is a link to buy a 4 person paella pan.
Don’t have a paella pan? No worries! Make this paella in your largest pan. The bigger the better! You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly if using a skillet.
Care tips for the paella pan: Paella pans are made of carbon steel and can rust. After cleaning, be sure to dry the pan completely and rub it with some vegetable oil to prevent rusting.
What is the best rice for paella?
The most authentic type of paella rice is called bomba rice. Bomba rice is a short grain white rice. You can also use arborio rice, which is easier to find but may give a tougher texture than bomba. Either work! For this recipe we tried Bomba and found it gave more consistent results. You can find bomba rice online. Order on: Cold Bomb
The secret spices: saffron and pepper
This is an authentic style paella recipe, so two special spices are used to achieve that traditional taste. Here’s what you need to know:
- Saffron gives the dish an earthy flavor and a beautiful colour. It’s an expensive spice, but worth it. What can I substitute for saffron? If you can’t find it or don’t want to spend a lot of money, use ½ teaspoon of turmeric.
- Smoked Peppers: Called pepper or Spanish smoked paprika, this bright red spice adds color and a smoky undertone to the dish. It’s easy to find and you’ll find it in many of our recipes here. (Here are our top 20 smoked paprika recipes.)
Don’t Stir This Paella Recipe!
After all the ingredients are added to the paella pan, here’s what to do…or really, what not to do. Don’t stir! Please repeat: no shaking allowed. The broth and spices cook through the rice, leaving everything perfectly fragrant and cooked.
Traditionally, it’s good to get a brown crust on the bottom of the rice (perfectly brown without burning it). The Spaniards call it shocked. It is difficult to achieve the perfect socarrat as everything depends on the exact moment. It’s also a little harder to get if you’re using a pan. But no fear! Each time you cook this recipe you will learn new things about perfecting your paella technique.
Variation: vegan and vegetarian paella
Don’t want to make a shrimp paella recipe? No problem. We also like to make vegan and vegetarian paella. (Or go for this easy vegetarian paella.) How to adapt this recipe:
- Skip the shrimp! Apparently.
- Add 1 can 15 oz chickpeas (1 ½ cups cooked). Drain and rinse them, then add them when you add the vegetable broth.
- Increase the salt by ¼ teaspoon. You need it to flavor the chickpeas.
What do you serve with a paella?
Are you making this paella as part of a dinner party? Here are some ideas for paella appetizers and side dishes:
This paella recipe is…
Gluten free, pescetarian and dairy free. See section above for vegetarian, plant-based and dairy-free products.
The description
How To Prepare A Paella Recipe… The Spanish Way! This superb one pot dinner features shrimp, veggies and all the authentic flavors of this traditional dish.
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 6 Garlic cloves
- 2 at 3 Italian or plum tomatoes (1 ½ cups finely chopped)
- ¼ cup olive oil, shared
- 1/2 mashed, peeled and deveined shrimp*
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large pinch of saffron
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, shared
- 3 cups fish broth or vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups Short Grain Bomba Rice or Arborio Rice
- ¼ cup frozen peas, thawed under water
- ½ cup Artichoke hearts, quartered
- 1 at 2 roasted peppers, cut into strips
- Lemon wedges from ½ lemon
- Chopped parsley for garnish
- Prepare the vegetables: Chop the onion. Chop the garlic. Finely chop the tomatoes, remove the seeds but keep the seeds with their juice.
- dose ingredients: Measure out all remaining ingredients before beginning. The cooking process is fast!
- Cook shrimp: Pat the shrimp dry and place in a bowl with ½ tsp smoked paprika and ¼ tsp kosher salt. In your largest skillet or 4-portion paella pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until barely milky, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp and set aside.
- Cook paella: In the same skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped tomatoes, remaining teaspoon of smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes and cook until tomatoes are broken up and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, saffron, and 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt. Sprinkle the rice evenly over the broth and tap the pan with a spoon to distribute the rice evenly. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until liquid is absorbed, about 18 to 22 minutes (adjust cooking time as needed if using a skillet).
- Adjust the heat if necessary: If your pan is large enough to cover multiple burners on your stovetop, adjust the heat on each burner to achieve an even, medium simmer. Rotate the pan every few minutes for even cooking.
- Add artichoke, peas and roasted red peppers: When the top of the rice begins to show through in the liquid (about 10 minutes into the cooking time), press the artichokes and peas lightly into the rice. Scatter red pepper strips on top.
- Check if the paella is cooked: Watch the paella closely for the last few minutes and turn the pan more often. At the end of the paella you will see the steam slowing down as the water boils. If desired, peek at the bottom of a saucepan with a knife to scrape up the rice—you shouldn’t see any standing water. The sound begins to change from a tremor to a crackle. This indicates that the crust is forming. Allow the crackling to continue for about 2 minutes before removing from the heat. If you feel a burning sensation, remove it immediately.
- Add shrimp and serve: When the paella is done, place the prawns on top of the paella and squeeze the lemon slices over the pan. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt and add parsley if using. Serve with additional lemon wedges.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Spanish
- Diet: Gluten free
Keywords: Paella Recipe, Paella
More paella recipes
do you like paella Here are some additional options you can try:
