How to Make a Classic Spanish Seafood Paella

Spain’s most characteristic dish, Paella, is a rice dish originally from Valencia in the mid-19th century, typically eaten at lunchtime. On Good Morning Spain we always teach you how to make traditional Spanish recipes, so this time we have brought you the most important one of all. In honour of World Paella Day on 20th September, here is how to make a traditional Spanish paella.

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil
Chicken
Tomato
Peppers
Garlic
Fresh white prawns
Squid
Mussels
Clams
Prawn heads, bodies, tails and shells
Bomba rice
Saffron
Salt
Black pepper

METHOD

1. Heat some olive oil in a paella pan.
2. Add the chicken. The chicken can be added raw and cooked in the pan, or precooked if you need to make the dish more quickly.
3. Prepare the base with finely chopped tomato, peppers and garlic. Cook slowly for around 20–30 minutes until reduced.
4. Peel the prawns, keeping the heads, bodies, tails and shells. Use these to make a broth.
5. Once the chicken is well cooked, add the rice and mix it well into the base. Allow the rice to soak up the juices and toast slightly.
6. Add the saffron.
7. Add the hot prawn broth, enough to cover the rice. Using hot broth helps maintain the cooking temperature.
8. Move the rice around to position it correctly. From this point, do not stir the rice again. You can gently shake the pan or turn it if necessary.
9. The rice should cook for around 15 minutes.
10. Add the fresh clams while the rice is cooking.
11. With around 9 minutes of cooking time remaining, add the squid and mussels.
12. Check the seasoning. Be careful with salt because the broth and seafood are already salty.
13. With around 5 minutes of cooking time remaining, add the fresh white prawns. Tuck them into the rice so they cook properly.
14. Give the pan another gentle shimmy if needed, but do not stir the rice.
15. Continue cooking until the rice is ready and you can hear it sizzling at the bottom. The slightly sticky, caramelized layer at the bottom is the socarrat.
16. Serve the paella once the rice is cooked and the seafood is ready.

For more detail, watch our recent episode of Good Morning.