Paella


Paella
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made with round rice, associated mainly with the Valencia region. The name comes from the large two-handled pan in which it is traditionally prepared. This is an adapted version with a mix of meat, vegetables and shellfish.
362 K 4.2/5 (56 reviews)
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Last modified on: February 21th 2011
For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 30 min.
Cooking: 1 hour 35 min.
All in all: 2 hours 60 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 15 min.
Paella : Stage 1
Peel 4 tomatoes and dice small.

Stage 2 - 10 min.
Paella : Stage 2
Peel 1 onion, peel 3 cloves garlic and chop.

Stage 3 - 10 min.
Paella : Stage 3
Cut 4 chicken breasts into pieces and slice ½ Chorizo (tip: remove skin from chorizo before cutting, then the skin will not shrivel and spoil the appearence during cooking).

Stage 4 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 4
Prepare ¼ cauliflower.

Stage 5 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 5
Prepare 150 g peas.

Stage 6 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 6
Wash and scrape 250 g mussels.

Stage 7 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 7
Wash 250 g prawns.

Stage 8 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 8
Put a large pan on high heat (even better, use a real paella pan if you can), and pour in 3 tablespoons olive oil. When really hot, tip in mussels all at once.

Stage 9 - 1 min.
Paella : Stage 9
They will spit, so cover pan with a sheet of aluminium foil.

Stage 10 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 10
Cook like this for 2 or 3 minutes until the mussels open.

Remove from the heat, and lift out mussels with a skimmer. Set aside.

Stage 11 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 11
Put the pan back on high heat and cook prawns 2 or 3 minutes on each side.

Stage 12 - 2 min.
Paella : Stage 12
Remove pan from heat, and lift out prawns with a skimmer and set aside.

Stage 13 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 13
Empty remaining cooking juices out of the pan, then pour in 3 tablespoons olive oil and put back on high heat.

Add sliced chorizo and lightly brown 2 or 3 minutes.

Stage 14 - 15 min.
Paella : Stage 14
Remove chorizo slices using a skimmer, and tip in chicken pieces. Fry until golden brown on all sides.

These are likely to spit, so you can partially cover again with foil to avoid making a mess of your kitchen.

Remove chicken pieces and set aside.

Stage 15 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 15
Add onion and garlic to remaining cooking fat, season, stir well and cook 2 or 3 minutes.

Stage 16 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 16
Tip in 500 g rice and stir well until "pearled", as for pilau rice.

Stage 17 - 2 min.
Paella : Stage 17
Add diced tomatoes, stir well.

Stage 18 - 3 min.
Paella : Stage 18
Then add chicken and chorizo, plus any juices that may have drained out while waiting, it all helps add flavour.

Stage 19 - 1 hour
Paella : Stage 19
Add 1 litre water mixed with 2 chicken stock cubes, then 4 pinches saffron and stir thoroughly. Add cauliflower florets, season and stir again.

Turn down the heat, cover again with aluminium foil and leave to cook gently for about 1 hour, stirring from time to time.

Stage 20 - 15 min.
Paella : Stage 20
Meanwhile, shell mussels and peel prawns.

Stage 21 - 5 min.
Paella : Stage 21
5 minutes before serving, add peas, mussels and prawns, and squeeze 1 lemon over.

Stir again and leave to cook a further 5 minutes. Check seasoning. To serve, take the pan to the table so that guests can help themselves, and come back for more.
Remarks
To get closer to the "true" paella, I encourage you to use round Spanish rice rather than classic long grain.

Paella is one of those dishes that gets better each time you reheat it, so don't hesitate to make plenty at a time. It freezes very well.

It's important, in my opinion, that all the elements of a paella should be ready to eat, so no mussels, prawns or scampi still in their shells, or chicken with skin or bones. It takes longer, no doubt getting away from the true paella, but it's much more enjoyable to eat.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe360 RDI=140 %190 RDI=20 %220 RDI=30 %4,210 RDI=210 %17,630 RDI: 210 %
Per 100 g8 RDI=3 %4 RDI=0 %5 RDI=1 %100 RDI=5 %400 RDI: 5 %
Per person60 RDI=20 %30 RDI=3 %40 RDI=6 %700 RDI=40 %2,940 RDI: 40 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Mollusc, Shellfish
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 people : £19.25
  • Per person : £3.25

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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