My Delicious Paella Adventure!
I’m always looking for some new recipes, and of course putting a bit of my own spin on them – sometimes offending purists like this!
This Is The Tale Of Two Paellas!
I have made Paella several times, and have eaten it in the Costa Brava of Spain as well…what you see above you is apparently a culinary crime…..I will explain of course, but first, a definition:
Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish originating in Valencia, featuring saffron-infused short-grain rice cooked in a large, shallow pan with a variety of proteins like chicken, rabbit, or seafood, and vegetables. Key components include olive oil, aromatic sofrito (sautéed onion, garlic, and peppers), short-grain rice that is not rinsed, and the essential saffron for color and flavor. The dish is cooked until the rice is tender and the bottom layer has a prized crispy crust called “socarrat.”
I was inspired by this great cookbook we bought after our trip to Spain:
Bravo to Penelope Casas for the great historical perspective on this “national” dish of Spain.
Using Penelope’s cookbook as my guide, it was time to make some Spanish Paella at home!
It’s a two-part process…first, prep the ingredients like onion, garlic, bell pepper so they are ready to cook, then put together all of your proteins:
I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, langoustines, chorizo, mussels and clams for my Paella.
Yes, the centerpiece of this Paella is going to be these beautiful Langoustines…they are hugely expensive and about 80% shell, but it’s a slightly richer flavor then shrimp so I did it!
I chose to pre-cook my clams and mussels…simmered in boiling, salted water for a few minutes – covered to steam them open…you can use that broth later if you want but strain it first:
Next, I pre-cooked the Chicken thighs and Chicken Chorizo…note, that was all I had access to that day, but it tasted great and filled the kitchen with this noise:
It smelled as good as it sounded!
I removed the chorizo and chicken thighs and then used the same pan with a bit more olive oil, white wine and then some paprika…brought it together, then I did this:
What I love about this recipe is how good it smells while you are cooking it…
Don’t worry, the whole recipe with portions is at the end of this!
Now the fun stuff: add broth – I used Chicken Stock, put the chicken and chorizo back in and let it simmer away, bringing together all of the flavors…
Now comes the fun part: putting the Clams and Mussels back into the pan, and top it all with those Langoustines!
Put a lid on and let the Langoustines steam in the mixture for 7-8 minutes, then take the lid off and let the liquid cook away…and it will sound like this:
Once you take the lid off and let it simmer, the rice absorbs the liquid and the final dish takes shape!
I plated the dish is a large shallow bowl and topped it with fresh parsley – which led me to this final presentation:
And it was a delicious success!
I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t going to get “in the weeds” with the portion information, choosing to leave it here along with some really terrific history of this incredible dish.
Back to the terrific Paella Cookbook bye Penelope Casas – here is the recipe I followed – loosely – to create our Paella at home – after she explains the importance of this dish to that Country:
Of course, nothing will ever match the real thing from Spain.
I was lucky enough to taste it on Spain’s “Wild Coast”:
Here’s a look at the incredible dish we got in Costa Brava, part of our adventure along Spain’s “Wild Coast!”
Click here for a recipe for that dish:
Now, I mentioned I would share a recipe for a Paella that broke International Culinary Law and here is why:
Here Are Your “TEN” Paella Ingredients – No Exceptions!
The city of Valencia has laid down the law – no messing with their traditiional Paella recipe!
The ten permitted ingredients are these:
Rice, Water, Olive Oil, Salt, Saffron (or food colouring), Tomato, Flat Green Beans, Lima Beans, Chicken and Rabbit.
That’s it!
More importantly:
NO Fish or Shellfish. EVER.
Well, as you saw I broke that law in every way possible!
Here is a second version of the dish that used Olives and Prosciutto – I confess!
We loved the food of Spain and the Costa Brava aka “The Wild Coast” – If you get the chance to go to Costa Brava, make sure to take a day to ride a big through the three medieval villages!
They are close enough to bike to all three, and so we did!
Click here to see our entire route:
We also spent several days in Barcelona, and got to see the famous Boqueria!
The hanging hams were just one of the many delicious sights we saw – you can see a tour here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
I really enjoy your posts about your travels, especially the food part!
Your paella looks delicious. I thought this dish was supposed to include fish and shellfish.
I think Valencia is taking a very rigid “proprietary” rule on what is a real Paella…I say add it all!
Me too 😋
Yes to both!!!
Thanks! I break the rules on everything I make but it was interesting to see how specific the “real” Paella is! Thanks for the comment!
Love paella when I can get really good ingredients! Yep – knew the law! Uhuh – have broken it at times myself – shush 🙂 ! You explain the dish very well . . .
I have never managed to cook paella as good as they do in Spain, or in Spanish restaurants in London. So I stick to eating it when I am dining out.
Best wishes, Pete.
I keep trying Pete but I can never get the crispy rice right – that’s for the pros! Cheers, hope its a good weekend for you!
I’m drooling! You managed to do this proud John!