Valencian paella

How to make a Valencian paella.

With the help of today’s post you will learn the techniques, steps and ingredients necessary to get a manual Valencian paella. And no … you don’t put onion or chorizo. I am not Jamie Oliver although it may seem… 😛

The last cooking courses that I have signed up for, the 3 that I have taken these months have been on recipes with rice .

It is not easy to master dry rice for me, because the ones I usually make at home are soupy or syrupy. It is very important to use quality rice, in the blog we trust La Fallera pump rice , which always gives us good results.

I haven’t mastered the fire technique yet, making the Valencian paella with firewood is the next step. For now, like 80% of those who prepare this delicacy, we have done it with gas, controlling very well the cooking times and especially the ingredients. We have also not added the Albufera rat as some funny one told me last Sunday.

This dish only contains 10 ingredients: chicken, rabbit, green beans, locust bean, tomato, rice, olive oil, water, saffron and salt. These are the ones recommended by the Regulatory Council of the Valencia Rice Designation of Origin . Although depending on the region and the season, other ingredients such as garlic, artichoke, duck, paprika, snails or rosemary are allowed. Give it more thought, the chorizo ​​is not an option.

From Ribera Baixa, Ribera Alta, Safor, C. de Túria, L`Horta, La Marina or Castellón we can find variations although with a common pattern that I present in this recipe that I have accompanied with the basic ingredients and 2 that I think help to improve it, the paprika and the artichoke that we have in season.

You can see all the photos of the step by step of this Valencian paella recipe  in this album. Do not miss any detail and it will be delicious

Before starting with paella

1. It is essential to have the paella ready and if possible with several uses (it helps that the rice does not stick). Size is important, allowing rice to cook evenly across its surface.
2. This is the first major problem that arises when trying to make the dish at home. To make it look good, the amount of rice should not be much more than a finger thick, so to make, for example, a paella for six people, we will need a container of around half a meter in diameter.
3. In the absence of firewood and fire with orange wood, we will need a good gas burner or temperature diffuser so that it reaches the total surface of the paella.
4. If you need to increase the amount of ingredients, you will also have to increase the size of the paella or casserole. The appropriate measures are:
   • 2-3 people- Paella of 30 cm.
   • 4-5 people- Paella 40 cm.
   • 6-8 people- Paella of 50 cm.
   • For 10 people- 55 cm paella.
   • For 12 people- 60 cm Paella.

Preparation of the base paella sauce

1. Let’s start with a good sofrito, the base of our paella.
2. The first thing is to cut all the ingredients into pieces. The chicken and the rabbit as for a stew (you can ask the butcher to prepare it), the green beans without strands and in pieces of two or three centimeters. Artichokes are very clean and halved or quarter depending on their size.
3. Fry the chicken, the rabbit, the beans, the carafe and the artichokes in abundant extra virgin olive oil.
4. When the pieces of meat are well browned, season well and add the sweet paprika from La Vera.
5. The rabbit and chicken pieces should be well browned, being careful not to burn them. Right after we add the crushed tomato and let the sauce soften well.
6. Add the water. It is better to be short than overdoing because we can always add a little more water if we see that the rice is too dry and has not been done yet. The proportions depend a lot on the fire, the heat, the degree of humidity and the diameter of the paella.
7. We need three times the volume of water than rice. Although it is the experience that will make you adjust and perfect these quantities.

Preparation of the Valencian paella

1. We cook the broth for 25 or 30 minutes. It is a good time to add the saffron, we must try the broth to know if it is tasty enough and we can correct it. We do not want it to be bland, so it is essential that the broth is tested by at least 2 people so that there is consensus on this issue.
2. We add the rice diagonally and cross-shaped as you see in the photos. We distribute the rice evenly throughout the paella.
3. We cook for 18 to 20 minutes, although here the time is marked again by the grain of rice and the power of the fire, which we must allow to be consumed. It has to be completely dry and loose.
4. You can have a saucepan with boiling water next to it, in case you have to add water. Halfway through cooking we can also put some sprigs of rosemary, which we will remove before serving.
5. A good paella must have socarrat. The best way to get it easily without burning the rice is when the paella is finishing cooking, is to make small holes with the ends of a spoon and add a little extra virgin olive oil in them. Turn the burner heat up to maximum for one minute and toast the rice. We turn off the heat and let the paella rest.
6. Let it rest for a few minutes covered with a large cotton cloth. With about 5-8 minutes off the heat it will be enough to achieve a yummy result.

Tips for a yummy paella

1. If the rice seems already cooked, but there is still a lot of broth, raise the heat to maximum so that the broth evaporates as soon as possible.
2. On the contrary, if the rice is still hard, and there is little broth, lower the heat so that it cooks over low heat and, when the broth has evaporated, if the rice is still hard, remove the paella from the heat and cover it with aluminum foil , or a damp cloth, and leave it like this for a few minutes.
3. In the number of rice servings that will come out, we do not send, but the paella.
4. The thinner the layer of rice, the better the paella will be, but on the contrary, a paella with a lot of rice will be mediocre. Of course, we will need a bigger and bigger paella to get the same portions.
5. In no case reach the limit marked by the nails of the handles, although this level is very high. It is more worth making a salad and ending with a little hunger, but “How good it was, too bad there was too little!”, Than throwing the rice in the trash.

Tips for a yummy paella by Xato

1. Xato recommends that the meat can be chicken, rabbit and duck if you have it.
2. Regarding vegetables, tomatoes, flat beans or baxoqueta, locust beans (broad and native beans from the Valencian orchard that surrounds Valencia, capital from the north, west and south). You can also add snails or baketas, Moors and occasionally hazelnuts.
3. If you use artichokes and beans in the paella it is also very rich but if you want to prepare the original paella, no pepper, neither green nor red.
4. If you prepare a paella try to make it in a somewhat larger paella. This way you will get a fine rice without piling for example to take a paella of 15.
5. Regarding garlic, if you chop it much better and do not say that you have added it. It is not usually one of the ingredients of a good paella.
6. Of course, if you are going to use it together with the tomato, slowly fry slowly over low heat and adding a little water.
7. In my family we put a lemon to fry the meat that you must then remove.