Paella and Spanish Rice
Cooking Skills: Rice 2
Chapter 4 · Paella and Spanish Rice
Skill goal
Cook paella the Spanish way: a wide pan, a good sofrito, rice left alone, and a crisp crust underneath.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Paella comes from Valencia, and the name is the pan (paella), not the dish. The idea is simple: a thin layer of rice cooks in just enough stock to be absorbed completely, in a wide pan, over an even heat. A pan 28 to 30 cm across is about right for 2 portions. A paella pan is ideal, but any wide, flat-bottomed frying pan will do. Do not use a deep saucepan.
Four things that make it paella
- The rice. Spanish paella rice (bomba, calasparra) is a short-grain rice that drinks up to three times its volume in stock without going mushy. Risotto rice such as arborio is the best substitute; long-grain rice is a poor one.
- The sofrito. A slow-cooked mixture of onion, garlic, tomato and paprika, which gives the rice its depth.
- The colour. Saffron is traditional; a pinch of turmeric gives a similar colour, with a different flavour.
- The crust. A final minute of high heat toasts the bottom layer of rice into the crisp socarrat. The cook listens for a crackle, and smells, before it burns.
| Rice | Stock (by volume) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bomba or calasparra | About 1 : 3 | Separate, tender grains, holds the crust |
| Arborio or risotto rice | About 1 : 2.5 to 1 : 3 | Slightly creamier, still good |
| Long-grain rice | About 1 : 2 | Fluffy but no crust, a poor choice |
No wine is needed: the stock and lemon give the sharpness.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Vegetable arroz
Spanish rice is cooked in a wide, shallow pan so that it forms a thin layer, with the stock absorbed evenly and a crust forming at the bottom. This is the simplest version: a vegetable paella.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 150 g paella rice (bomba or calasparra) or risotto rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
- 1 ripe tomato, grated (discard the skin)
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 80 g green beans, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 pinch saffron threads (or ½ tsp ground turmeric)
- 500 ml hot vegetable stock
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Crumble the saffron into 3 tablespoons of the hot stock and leave it to soak (turmeric can just go in the stock).
- Heat the oil in a wide frying pan (28 to 30 cm) over a medium heat. Fry the onion and pepper for 6 minutes, add the garlic, paprika and grated tomato, and cook for 5 minutes until thick and jammy. This is the sofrito, the flavour base.
- Add the rice and stir for 1 minute to coat in the sofrito. Pour in the hot stock and the saffron, add the green beans and a pinch of salt, and stir once, spreading the rice evenly.
- Simmer without stirring for 16 to 18 minutes, turning the pan if one side cooks faster, until the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
- For the crust (socarrat): turn the heat up for 1 minute and listen for a light crackle. Don't let it burn. Take off the heat, cover with a tea towel and rest for 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
Stir once, then stop
Stirring risotto rice makes it creamy. In paella you want separate grains with a crust, so you stir once to spread the rice and then leave it alone.
Level 2 · Classic
Chicken and pea paella
Chicken is browned first, so the pan base picks up its flavour. Peas go on the top near the end to stay green.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 150 g paella rice (bomba or calasparra) or risotto rice
- 200 g boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
- 1 ripe tomato, grated (discard the skin)
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 1 pinch saffron threads (or ½ tsp ground turmeric)
- 500 ml hot reduced-salt chicken stock
- 80 g frozen peas
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Soak the saffron in 3 tablespoons of hot stock. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes. Take it out and set it aside.
- Add the remaining oil, the onion and the pepper and cook for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and tomato and cook down for 5 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the hot stock and saffron, return the chicken, stir once, and simmer without stirring for 12 minutes.
- Scatter the peas on top and simmer for 5 more minutes, until the rice is tender and the stock has gone.
- Make the socarrat (1 minute on high heat, listening for the crackle), rest under a tea towel for 5 minutes and serve with lemon. Check that the thickest piece of chicken is white all through.
Level 3 · Special
Seafood paella
The same method with seafood on top. The fish needs only a few minutes at the end, so it is added late and not stirred in. If you'd rather not use seafood, make the chicken and pea paella.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 150 g paella rice (bomba or calasparra) or risotto rice
- 120 g raw peeled king prawns
- 150 g firm white fish (cod, haddock or hake), skinned and cut into 3 cm chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
- 1 ripe tomato, grated (discard the skin)
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 1 pinch saffron threads (or ½ tsp ground turmeric)
- 500 ml hot fish or vegetable stock
- 100 g mussels, scrubbed (optional)
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Soak the saffron in 3 tablespoons of the hot stock. Make the sofrito as in the vegetable arroz (onion, pepper, garlic, paprika, tomato).
- Add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the hot stock and saffron, stir once, and simmer without stirring for 12 minutes.
- Press the fish chunks and prawns into the rice, and arrange the mussels (if using) on top with the hinge down. Cover with foil or a lid, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the prawns are pink, the fish is opaque and the mussels have opened.
- Throw away any mussel that has not opened. Do the 1-minute socarrat, rest under a tea towel for 5 minutes, scatter with parsley and serve with lemon.
Mussels
Before cooking, throw away any mussel that is open and doesn't close when you tap it, or that has a cracked shell. After cooking, throw away any that stayed closed.
Experiments
Experiment
Three kinds of rice
See why paella rice matters.
- Make three small vegetable arroz, one each with bomba (or calasparra), risotto rice and long-grain rice. Use 75 g rice and 250 ml stock each, in a pan of the same size.
- Compare the grains, the crust and the texture after resting.
Look for: The long-grain version dries out without developing a crust, the risotto rice is closer to the original. Is the specialist rice worth it for you?
Experiment
Stir or don't
Test the no-stirring rule.
- Make two small arroz. Stir one every few minutes. Leave the other alone after the first stir.
- Compare how creamy, and how crisp at the bottom, each is.
Look for: The stirred pan is creamier, like a risotto, and the unstirred one has separate grains and a crust.
Experiment
Wide pan or deep pan
Why does the shape of the pan matter?
- Cook the same amount of rice and stock in a wide 28 cm frying pan and in a smaller, deeper saucepan.
- Compare how evenly the rice cooks and the crust at the bottom.
Look for: In the deep pan the rice is deeper, so the top may stay hard while the bottom is soft, and there's less crust.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetable arroz | ||||
| Chicken and pea paella | ||||
| Seafood paella | ||||
| Three kinds of rice | ||||
| Stirred vs unstirred | ||||
| Wide pan vs deep pan |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rice hard on top, wet below | Pan too small or the heat uneven | Use a wider pan; rotate it; cover with foil for the last few minutes |
| Mushy and creamy | Stirred too much, or too much stock | Stir once; measure the stock |
| No crust | Final heat skipped or too low | Turn up the heat for the last minute and listen for the crackle |
| Burnt base | Heat too high, too long | Take off the heat sooner; the crackle is a warning, not a target |
| Pale and bland | No sofrito, no paprika, no salt | Cook the sofrito until jammy and taste the stock |
| Dry seafood | Cooked too long | Add the seafood in the last 5 or 6 minutes |
Food safety: paella
Paella is cooked rice with meat or seafood, so cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate within 1 hour, eat within 24 hours and reheat once until steaming hot. Cook chicken until no pink remains, fish until opaque, and prawns until pink. Throw away any mussel that doesn't open.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a sofrito and use it to flavour rice.
- I know why paella is cooked in a wide pan and left unstirred.
- I can get a crust (socarrat) without burning the rice.
- I can tell when chicken and seafood are cooked.
- I know when to use paella rice and what to use instead.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Rice 2, chapter 5 is Biryani and Layered Rice: part-cooking the rice and then steaming it in layers with spiced vegetables or chicken.