How to Make Paella – An Authentic Spanish Paella (Recipe Guide)

Our full recipe guide on how to make paella, the most popular dish in Spain comes from Valencia.

Paella is a vibrant rice dish often cooked in a large, shallow pan and infused with saffron, giving it its signature golden color. There are different ways to make authentic Spanish paella and it will feed about 6-10 people. If you want a side dish you can go for Spanish omelette

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How to Make Paella

Paella Recipe Ingredients

There are many ways to cook paella, vegetarian, and chicken but today we will make our favorite: Seafood paella

Rice: 1/2 half of a cup per person bomba rice
Broth: 1 cup of seafood broth per cup of rice
Saffron
Olive oil
Seafood: 200 grams of prawns, 200 grams of cleaned squid (sliced into rings), and 12 mussels
Vegetables: 1 large onion (finely chopped), 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1 red bell pepper (sliced) and 1 Tomato
Paprika: 1 teaspoon
Lemon to make a cute presentation and one slide per person
Salt and pepper

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Step By Step How to Make Paella

If you have a paella pan or similar is the best way to cook to make sure you get the best for your rice.

Step 1- Prepare Ingredients

Clean and prepare all seafood, chop the vegetables, and have everything ready for easy and fast cooking.

Step 2 – Meat and Squid

Heat the olive oil and start with the Red pepper, the squid is next, if you add meat or chicken in your paella is good to do know before the sofrito (tomato and garlic). Once is cooked make sure you put it apart on the side.

Step 3 – Sofrito
Add the garlic and tomato in the middle of the pan for a couple of minutes and join at the end all the vegetables.

Step 4 – Be Ready with the Broth

The broth can be for 30 minutes to 2 hours on the stove. You can add salt, pepper, saffron, colorant to turn the rice yellow, and the heads of the prawn and fish or chicken bones to give the best flavor.

Step 5 – Add Rice and Broth

Spread the rice over the pan and mix it with the vegetables and fish like prawns, mussels and clams if you added.
Step 6 – Simmering

You will have to cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is almost done. When cooking make sure you control the fire and slow cook the rice and be ready to add some extra broth for this. This is the most difficult part of reducing the broth and trying to make the socarrat (small burnt on the base) which is so delicious.

Step 7 – Rest and Serve

Remove the pan from heat and cover the paella with a sheet of foil and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Add one slice of lemon per person or add them before the presentation for the paella.

Tips for Making a Paella

Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the simmer and prevent the bottom from burning too much, if you don’t have a proper fire and you are cooking on an electric stove you can finish the last 10 minutes of your paella by heating the oven and controlling not to get burnt so much!

You can partner the paella with white or red wine depending on what you like more, some salad and embutidos like ham and cheese!