How to make paella

1. Add the saffron. This will leave both the color and the smell. Put the saffron in a small bowl with hot water and remove it.

2. Grab the protein. Heat olive oil in your hot paella pan and quickly heat your protein: skin-side chicken and chorizo ​​brownies. The shrimp are quickly tossed before being removed to panchanchos prevent them from cooking.

3. Sweat and aromatics. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and paprika and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant.

4. Add water. Carefully add the chicken broth to the water and saffron and bring everything to a boil. Turn the chicken skin side up.

5. Add the rice. Time to sprinkle the rice! Try adding it with a stick, even layer and spread it with a spoon if necessary. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

6. Add seafood. Nest the clams and put the shrimp on top.

7. Cook on low heat until the clams open and the rice is cooked.

8. Socarrat time! Increase the heat for 1-2 minutes to create a fragrant, shiny rice flour.

9. Relax and enjoy. Cover the paella with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. paella dish

Rice
Because paella is all about the rice, the rice is the most important ingredient. Bomba rice, from Spain, is the best choice. It absorbs 3 times more water than regular rice, giving it 3 times more flavor when all the water is absorbed. Plus, cooked well, it stays al dente. You can usually find bomba rice at Whole Foods or online.

Spanish smoked paprika
Smoked paprika comes in sweet and sour, opt for mild Spanish paprika. It adds smoke, smell and color.

Protein
There is a lot of controversy about the type of protein that goes into paella. If you are not worried about accuracy, you can customize your paella and add whatever you want to it. If you go for chorizo, try to get Spanish chorizo, which is dried and salted. And if you only have Mexican chorizo ​​available, I think that’s fine too. Purists say that chorizo​​​​ will overpower other flavors, but we have had many paellas in Valencia with (and without) chorizo​​​​, so it is a personal choice. Other proteins you can use include chicken, pork, seafood, or anything you can dream up.

Spinach
Many paellas contain vegetables, especially the paella we had during our stay in Valencia. It is usually a green bean type, a type that is not commonly found here in North America. You can add more green beans, add peppers, asparagus, artichokes, peas, olives, beans, chickpeas, of course, it’s like protein, go wild!

Practice
The soup is pretty good so this is what will add flavor to your bomba rice. That being said, if you don’t like salt, I would make the broth low sodium, then, the time later. If you have time, make fish/fish soup or chicken broth, which makes it easier to control the food and taste.