Paella

A traditional Spanish seafood and rice dish

• CuisineSpanish
• CategorySeafood
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 4 tbspOlive oil
• 150 gmsOnions, diced
• 150 gmsRed capsicum, diced
• 2 clovesGarlic, minced
• 200 gmsSquid, diced
• 400 gmsCanned diced tomatoes
• 300 gmsChicken pieces
• 200 gmsChorizo, sliced
• 4 tspSmoked paprika
• 1 pinchSaffron
• 500 gmsCalasparra rice
• 6 cupsFish stock
• 300 gmsPrawns, unshelled
• 300 gmsMussels

Preparation

1. Use a paella pan about 40cms in diameter
2. Put on burner and add olive oil
3. Add onions, capsicum, garlic, squid and fry
4. Add chicken, diced tomatoes and chorizo and fry
5. Add paprika, saffron, salt and rice and stir for a minute
6. Pour in fish stock
7. Bring to boil and turn to simmer
8. Shell and devein prawns. Leave the head on for some of them
9. When rice starts to appear, add prawns and mussels
10. When the mussels open and the rice is cooked, remove and serve in the pan itself

This is a traditional Spanish rice dish with many variations. This has a lot of seafood and a little chicken. It is made in a large shallow pan called the paella and the dish is also named after it. Once cooked, it is served in the same pan. I have a paella pan about 40 cms in diameter but don't have the burner. So I place it so that it straddles two burners and constantly rotate it. The rice I use is usually calasparra or bomba. Arborio comes the closest but is a poor substitute. The paprika and saffron are key ingredients - make sure they are Spanish in origin.

Update: 28 Sep 2019

Making a paella when you don't have a paella burner is a bit difficult. The paella pan is quite large. Any burner under it tends to concentrate the heat at a particular spot, burning the rice at that point while the rest of the pan is just not hot enough. I usually get around this by spanning two burners and constantly turning the pan around.

I often wondered if a BBQ with multiple burners is a better option and recently, I got to try this out. The results were so good that I don't think I will make a paella any other way - not even a paella burner!

Start off with the burners on high and put the paella pan on. Add the oil and then the first batch of ingredients. Then follow up with the second batch that includes the chicken and chorizo. Let the chorizo release some of that fat into the mix.

Once the rice and spices have been added and stirred around, coating the rice with the sauce, it is time to add the fish stock.

Let the stock start simmering. At this point, set the burners to medium and close the hood. The temperature is just right and putting the hood down helps cook the rice. It should be OK to raise the hood once in a while to check the progress or take a picture or two as long as it is not done too often.

Once all the fish stock is absorbed, open the hood and shut off the burners.

When the paella is being cooked, the heat from the burners is nicely spread with no spot too hot or cold. The paella turned out very well. The soccarat (the caramelized crust of the rice stuck to the pan) was the best I have ever managed before. There were no burnt spots.

Conclusion: Using a BBQ to make a paella is a no brainer. The results were outstanding. Any BBQ with two burners and big enough to fit the pan should do just fine. If you have a hood, it is even better.