How many ways can paella be prepared

Finally, if there is one last thing to know about paella, it is that, from its very preparation to the final act of enjoyment, it is a dish designed for sharing and for bringing people together.

And that, that moment in which everyone prepares to tuck in, equipped with only a smile and a spoon, is perhaps the most important element of a good paella. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Sign Up. Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Tara Jessop. The Origins of Paella.

The Preparation of Paella. The Eating Of The Paella. Give us feedback. Read Next View. Apartamentos Barracart. Add more broth as needed, tasting the rice each time. It should be tender, but firm. If you run our of broth before the rice is ready, use boiling water. Sprinkle the peas on top. Tuck the clams into the rice and the broth. Lay a piece of extra-wide aluminum foil over the paella for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove from the heat and let the paella stand covered for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

When you serve your paella, you should have a browned bottom that looks like this. No, you have not burned your paella! This is called socarrat and this just means you have properly prepared your dish.

You actually want the rice and all the yummy juices to do this! The important things you get to bring home with you from vacations are your memories, your photos, and perhaps some souvenirs. I always enjoy coming home and trying to recreate some of the fabulous dishes I had while I was traveling! Serves She is the author and owner of PratesiLiving.

She is a contributor to the Travel section of U. Her work has also been featured on MSN, Yahoo! Gwen chronicles her love of international travel and experience as a professional home cook on PratesiLiving. She and her husband traded in big city life in Atlanta for shorts and flip-flops on Fernandina Beach, Florida. They are enjoying the coastal lifestyle with their Tibetan Terrier, Rhythm. Gwen, this looks absolutely wonderful. Reminds me of the paella I had on the Great Ocean Road.

Thanks for the comment. It truly is delicious, especially at 10 pm at night! Gotta love Sur La Table…toy store for cooks! Spain is a very special place and I see you paid attention. The secret to really tasty paella is cooking things separately to start and then melding in the paellera.

Looks beautiful. Thank you Joan! Spain is a wonderful place. We only saw a small portion, but hope to go back sometime soon! I absolutely fell in love with Barcelona!

I really enjoy taking the time to make dishes like this. It is well worth the time spent layering the flavors! Thank you for your nice comment. I am glad you are enjoying my blog. I am having great fun with it! Get that paella pan out and start cooking! You certainly would impress the heck out of them with your culinary skills! When I went to Madrid, I tried to taste it without any of the meat and could still taste the seafood flavors I know. So, it is nice to get this recipe because I can just customize it to my tastes.

Thank you for sharing your experiences in Spain. It truly is a lovely place to be. I totally agree with you about the seafood! That is why I really enjoy this recipe.

I added the clams, but you certainly can leave them out. The shrimp are delicious in the paella especially because the shells add some flavor to the chicken broth , but it is not overwhelming at all.

Just tailor the ingredients to your preferences and you should end up with awesome paella as long as you do the basics! Good luck! I adore paella and just bought myself a special paella pan.

I might have to break it out this weekend since the whole family will be together and my new pan is huge! One question, though… since my husband is allergic to shellfish I will have to make him a seperate mini-paella. Any fun ideas on how to dress-up a seafood-less paella? Hi and thanks for your comment! There are several sizes of paella pans, so you may need to adjust ingredients based on the size of your pan. You could also leave out the chorizo and then add larger pieces of sausage with the chicken.

You can skip the step where you cook the shrimp shells and then flavor the chicken broth with them. Just be sure you use a good broth to start.

If shellfish is the only ingredient that is problematic and not fish , you could mix in some mild white fish like grouper for the entire dish. It looks incredibly delicious! Great photos with perfect colors! Oh yum!!!!! We should have just hopped over to Spain last year while we were in the South of France.

Thank you for sharing the recipe and I will definitely try this on our next family gathering! The peas he uses add a sweetness to the dish, but as broad beans are still in season here I've substituted them in homage to the fresh white lima beans that make an appearance in the traditional paella valenciana. Paella is sometimes served with aioli but, although I can never resist a spoonful if there's some around, its rich, garlicky flavour does overpower the delicacy of the rice.

To make the most of it, allow the dish to rest before serving. As Colman Andews points out, "most aficionados of paella prefer it tepid rather than hot", and with good reason: it tastes much better. I'm not sure there's any truth in the idea that paella should only be eaten with a wooden spoon but I'm sure that it really, if possible, should be scoffed straight from the pan. This is a festive dish that celebrates the joy of communal dining rather than a formal knife and fork affair — so make it for Sunday lunch, stick the pan straight on to the garden table and get stuck in.

Shell the prawns and put the flesh aside. Pour in the stock and simmer gently for 30 minutes, then strain, season to taste and keep warm.

Heat the remaining oil in a 26cm paella or other wide, thin-based pan and add the monkfish. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, then stir in the paprika and cook for one minute. Tip in the tomatoes and wine, turn up the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the squid and beans. Stir in the rice to coat well so it forms an even layer, then add ml stock and the saffron and soaking water. Simmer vigorously for 10 minutes then arrange the monkfish, mussels and prawns on the top of the dish, pushing them well into the rice but not otherwise disturbing it. Cook for about eight minutes — if the dish looks very dry before the rice has cooked completely then add the rest of the stock, bearing in mind it shouldn't be at all soupy.

Cover the dish with foil and take off the heat. Allow to rest for 10 minutes then garnish with flat-leaf parsley and wedges of lemon. Is paella Spain's proudest culinary achievement, and can a seafood version ever hope to compete with a proper paella valenciana? How to cook the perfect paella.

Oven or hob?