Paella

From the kitchen of Carly

The Spanish one-pan show-off dish: saffron-stained rice with chorizo, prawns, mussels, and squid, finished with a crackly bottom layer (the socarrat) you fight over at the table. Worth the wide pan and the patience. The wider the pan, the better. A thin layer of rice is what creates the socarrat. Don't pile it deep.

Paella

Paella is a one-pan argument: the rice must sing, which means building a stock worth its salt. Toast prawn heads and mussel liquor together, add saffron, and you've earned the right to boil hard, stir once, then walk away. The socarrat (that burnished crust at the bottom) isn't optional, it's the whole point. Chorizo does the seasoning work so you don't drown the seafood.

Prep
20 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1 hr
Servings
4
Difficulty
hard

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 3 tbspolive oil
  • 10raw tiger prawns or large shrimp
  • 1 bunchfresh parsley, leaves and stalks separated
  • 1/2 cup(100 ml)dry sherry (or white wine)
  • 1 1/8 lb(500 g)live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 1 good pinchsaffron threads
  • 5 oz(150 g)Spanish chorizo, sliced
  • 1yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 clovesgarlic, minced
  • 1 mediumsquid, cleaned and sliced into rings
  • 2ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 9 oz(250 g)Bomba or paella rice
  • 3 1/2 oz(100 g)broad beans or green peas
  • 1lemon, zested plus extra wedges

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a wide shallow pan (paella pan if you have one). Pull the heads off the prawns, drop them in with the parsley stalks, and cook until pink, mashing with the back of a spoon. Add the sherry and 300ml water. Season with salt and simmer 10 minutes, mashing as the heads cook to extract every drop of flavor.

  2. Scatter the mussels into the pan. Cover loosely with a lid or tea towel and turn the heat high. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until the mussels open. Stir to release their liquor, then strain everything through a colander into a bowl that already holds the saffron threads. You want about 700ml of liquid; top up with water if short. Pick the mussel meats out of their shells (keeping a few in shells for show), and set aside.

  3. Wipe out the pan and add the rest of the olive oil. Cook the chorizo over medium heat until it releases its red oil, about 3 minutes.

  4. Add the onion and garlic. Cook 4 minutes until softened. Add the squid and stir until it turns opaque, about 1 minute.

  5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for 1 minute.

  6. Pour in most of the saffron stock (hold back a small splash). Stir, then bring to a hard boil.

  7. Scatter the rice evenly across the pan. Stir once, then leave it alone. Boil hard for 5 minutes, then drop the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 10 minutes without stirring. The rice will absorb the liquid and start to crackle on the bottom.

  8. Tuck the prawn tails into the rice and cook 5 minutes more, turning once.

  9. Stir in the mussels and broad beans. If the rice still tastes raw but the pan is dry, add the reserved splash of stock. If it's soupy, crank the heat for 1 minute.

  10. Turn off the heat. Cover with a clean tea towel and rest for 5 minutes. Scatter the parsley leaves and lemon zest on top. Serve from the pan with lemon wedges.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Prawn heads are liquid gold. Crush them hard while they cook to extract every bit of briny sweetness into your stock, this is what separates paella from risotto.
  • Don't stir the rice after you scatter it. Let it sit hard, boil at a rolling boil for 5 minutes, then drop to low. That crust is your target.
  • Live mussels close when they're fresh. Discard any that don't open after 3 to 4 minutes of steam, or any that smell off before cooking.
  • Bomba rice holds its shape because it absorbs liquid without breaking down. Regular arborio will get mushy, so use what the recipe calls for.

Variations

  • Paella Vegetariana: Swap the seafood for 300g mushrooms, more broad beans, and roasted red peppers. Use vegetable stock in place of prawn stock, keep the chorizo for smoke and salt.
  • Chicken and Chorizo: Use chicken thighs instead of seafood, omit the prawn head stock, and bump up the chicken or vegetable stock to 700ml. Roast the chicken pieces at the start until golden, then set aside and finish it in the rice.
  • Saffron-light version: Use half the saffron threads if cost is a concern, the chorizo oil carries enough color and flavor that you won't miss it.
  • Add squid ink: Stir 1 tsp squid ink into your stock for a dark, briny-sweet depth and a dramatic black paella.

Make ahead and storage

Paella is best eaten fresh from the pan, but leftovers keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Reheat gently in a wide pan over medium-low heat with a splash of water to restore the rice. Freezing breaks down the texture of the seafood and rice both, skip it.

Substitutions
  • Spanish chorizo to Mexican chorizo or Italian sausage. Mexican chorizo is softer and spicier. Italian sausage is mellower. Both work; the dish leans different directions.
  • Bomba rice to arborio or short-grain rice. Bomba absorbs more liquid without going mushy. Arborio is the next best; jasmine and basmati won't work.
  • saffron to 1 tsp turmeric. Turmeric gives you the color but not the flavor. Worth ordering saffron online if you make this often.

Pairs well with: Spanish red (Rioja or Tempranillo) or a chilled Albariño, Crusty bread and aioli, Simple green salad with sherry vinegar