Saffron and pimentón (a mixture of smoked and sweet paprika) are essential to the flavour of authentic Spanish paella. Originally paella was a dish cooked over a woodfire by farmers and farm labourers. It was made with rice, plus whatever was found around the rice fields and countryside, such as tomatoes, onions, snails, rabbit or duck and – for special occasions – chicken. A dash of saffron was added for colour and flavour. Traditionally, paella should be eaten straight from the paellera pan with each person using his own wooden spoon
| Created by | Spinneys |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 40 minutes |
| Serves | 6 |
| Cuisine | Spanish |
| Diet | Family Friendly |
| Preparation | Moderate |
| Calories | 473 |
| Fat | 21.3g |
| Saturates | 5.2g |
| Protein | 31.6g |
| Carbs | 41.6g |
| Sugars | 6.3g |
| Given the cook-at-home nature of Spinneys and natural variations in ingredients, nutritional information is approximated. See details | |
Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
Download PDFTo make the paella spice mix, combine all the spices in a bowl and store in a jar until required.
Finely chop the chorizo. Place a very large frying pan or paella pan over a high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken pieces and chorizo and sauté until golden brown and cooked through – approx. 15 minutes. Move the meat to the side of the pan and deglaze it with the non-alcoholic wine, scraping off the pieces on the bottom. Finely slice the onions and capsicum and add to the pan along with the tomato paste and spice mix. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, stock and water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and sprinkle the rice evenly over the pan. Stir to coat well then don’t stir again. Simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. Test the rice – it should be al dente like pasta. Arrange the mussels on top and place a lid or foil on top and continue cooking.
When the rice is done, it will start to make a very faint crackling sound. This is the prized socarrat, or paella crust, starting to form at the base of the pan. You can turn the heat up a touch but be very careful, you want your rice crust toasted but not burned. When you start to get a subtle toasting scent remove from the heat.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
