TOP 4 original recipes with photos of paella cooking at home. Cooking tips and secrets. Video recipes.
Paella is a relative of risotto and pilaf. This is a Spanish national dish made with rice. But most Spaniards consider this dish exclusively Valencia, and the Valencians themselves call paella a symbol of the region. In the 15th century, paella was mainly consumed by local peasants, adding to the rice whatever was in stock. But today paella has long ceased to be considered the food of the poor and is served in the best restaurants in the world. The popularity of the dish is due to the many variations in its preparation. And the Spaniards themselves claim that the number of its types is more than three hundred recipes. Let's find out in this material the TOP-4 recipes for Spanish paella.
Culinary tips and secrets
- Paella is made up of three essential ingredients: rice, olive oil and saffron. Everything else is subject to change.
- Saffron is used to tint white rice. In rare cases, it is replaced with turmeric. It gives not only an appetizing color, but also a scent.
- Olive oil is taken from the real aromatic and only of the first cold pressing.
- Rice most cooks use the round-grain white calasparra or bomba varieties for classic paella. These varieties are able to absorb the taste of the broth, while not boiling soft or becoming sticky. If this variety is not available, you can use Arborio, it is easy to find in the supermarket. Long-grain basmati and jasmine rice are not suitable for paella, because they do not absorb moisture well. Also, avoid steamed or flavored rice.
- The paella rice is not pre-washed in order to preserve the starch that makes the dish tender. Otherwise, rice porridge may turn out.
- In addition to rice, a dish may include fish, seafood, chicken, rabbit, chicken, duck, snails, vegetables, beans, white wine, eggs, herbs, spices.
- All kinds of seasonings can be added to any paella, which gives the dish an exquisite and sophisticated taste. These are paprika, rosemary, black pepper, hot pepper, olives, lemon.
- If the paella is with black rice, then cuttlefish are added to the dish to get the intense black color of the dish, which stands out from it.
- In some regions of Spain, paella is made from beans.
- For paella, broth is specially cooked, and in advance.
- In order for the paella to have a crispy crust at the bottom, the rice layer should not exceed 2 cm.
- After adding the broth to the paella, the rice does not stir and the lid does not open. Shake the pan if necessary. Constant stirring will release the starch and the rice will become viscous. If there is not enough liquid, add a little broth. This is the one time you can open the lid during cooking.
- At the end of cooking, the food is also not stirred, but left under a closed lid for the dish to infuse.
- To prepare paella in Spain, they traditionally use a special frying pan with a diameter of 20 cm to 1 m, depending on the number of eaters. It should be thick-bottomed, round, wide, shallow, made of polished steel with two handles. Such a frying pan is called - paellera. But in the absence of such, any wide frying pan made of cast iron will do so that the paella does not turn into a mess or porridge. As a last resort, use a non-stick skillet if you want paella with a characteristic crispy crust underneath.
Paella with chicken
Barcelona-style paella with chicken and seafood is a delicious and aromatic dish for the festive menu and everyday table.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 169 kcal.
- Servings Per Container - 4-5
- Cooking time - 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- Rice - 150 g
- White fish fillet - 250 g
- Mussels in shells - 350 g
- Green beans - 250 g
- Boiled frozen shrimps without shell - 250 g
- Olive oil - 50 ml
- Chicken breast - 350 g
- Dry white wine - 250 ml
- Turmeric - 10 g
- Onion - 1 head
- Chicken broth - 250 ml
- Fresh red pepper - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 3 cloves
Cooking Chicken Paella:
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and add finely chopped onions. Simmer it over medium heat until transparent.
- Cut the chicken into small pieces, place in the pan with the onion and cook for 5 minutes.
- Cut the beans in half. Peel the red pepper from the seed box and cut into strips. Peel and chop the garlic. Add vegetables to the skillet.
- Then put the chopped fish fillet, shrimp, mussels and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Season food with salt, pepper and spices. Top with a layer of rice and sprinkle with turmeric.
- Pour everything with wine and broth, bring to a boil and simmer under a lid for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. It should absorb all the liquid.
Paella with shrimps
There are a lot of paella recipes. But the hallmark of Spanish cuisine is the classic paella with shrimp and seafood.
Ingredients:
- Rice - 400 g
- Large shrimps - 8 pcs.
- Squid - 300 g
- Mussels - 300 g
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
- Sweet pepper - 1 pc.
- Fresh frozen green peas - 100 g
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- Olive oil - 100 ml
- Parsley - a bunch
- Saffron - a pinch
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper - to taste
- Water - 700 ml
Cooking shrimp paella:
- Peel the shrimps from their shells and remove the intestinal vein. Put the shells with the heads in a saucepan, cover with water and boil.
- Peel the carrots with garlic (2 cloves) and wash together with the parsley. Add food to the broth to the shrimp and cook over low heat for half an hour. Then strain the broth through a fine sieve.
- Make cuts on the tomatoes, scald them with boiling water and peel them off. Cut them into small cubes.
- Peel the sweet pepper from the seed box and chop into thin strips. Peel the remaining clove of garlic and pass through the garlic press.
- Peel the squid from the film, dip in boiling water for 30 seconds and cut into rings.
- Wash mussels and remove algae.
- Pour saffron with a little warm water.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet, add mussels and salt. Cook them for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.
- Send the shrimps to the pan, salt and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove them from the pan and place the tomato and squid rings. Add some salt, chopped basil, garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
- Then add the bell peppers and green peas and cook for 3 minutes.
- Return all food to the pan, stir and add the rice in an even layer.
- Pour in the broth, saffron solution, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes.
- Then put the shrimp with mussels on top and cook the rice until cooked for 5-7 minutes.
Vegetable paella with mushrooms
The taste of rice, saturated with the aromas of mushrooms and fresh vegetables - vegetable paella with mushrooms. Bright, rich, and quick and easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
- Vegetable broth - 500 ml
- Rice - 300 g
- Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
- Eggplant - 1 pc.
- Zucchini - 1 pc.
- Young cabbage - 1/3 part of the bike
- Sweet pepper - 1 pc.
- Champignons - 300 g
- Olive oil - 4 tablespoons
- Saffron - a pinch
Cooking Vegetable Paella with Mushrooms:
- Wash tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers and mushrooms and cut into cubes of the same size. Chop the cabbage thinly.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet, add pepper and fry for 5 minutes.
- Then put the eggplants with mushrooms, and after 5 minutes the zucchini with young cabbage.
- Bring vegetables to half-cooked, add tomatoes and stir.
- Pour rice on top of the vegetables in an even layer, and, without stirring, but shaking, fry everything over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the broth into the skillet so that it is 1 finger higher than the rice. Turn on a low heat and simmer the paella without stirring until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
- Then turn on the hotplate at full power for 1-2 minutes to brown the rice.
- Turn off the hotplate, cover with the paella and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Paella with meat and eggs
Meat paella for those who don't like seafood. This is a famous dish, paella with meat can be made in a slow cooker, where it will turn out to be no worse than in a frying pan.
Ingredients:
- Rice - 320 g
- Chicken broth - 1.5 l
- Beef - 200 g
- Pork - 200 g
- Lamb ham - 300 g
- Bacon - 100 g
- Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.
- Bulb onions - 1 pc.
- Green beans - 30 g
- Spinach - 30 g
- Quail eggs - 3 pcs.
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Chili pepper - 1 pc.
- Salt to taste
- Saffron - a pinch
- Black pepper - to taste
- Demiglas sauce - 150 g
- Olive oil - for frying
Cooking paella with meat and eggs:
- Fry the chopped bacon in a skillet until golden brown.
- Add diced beef, pork and lamb. Continue to fry everything for 10 minutes.
- Cut onions, garlic, bell peppers, chili peppers and green beans into equal pieces and place in the pan. Add olive oil and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add rice to the pan, salt, add the saffron soaked in water and pour over everything with broth.
- Top with spinach, add demi-glace sauce, cover the pan, boil and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Decorate the cooked paella with meat with boiled quail eggs.
