Got to make a Paella on Friday evening….

Made one a few weeks ago and thought it was great just by following the recipe on the back of the Asda packet of paella rice! (to the letter.)

Any other tips ?

Basically the asda recipe was chicken stock, rice, seafood, bit of saffron touch of paprika, tin of tomatos, some garlic and so on

a jar of pimento (roasted pepper with the skin removed) and prawns right at the end. A bloke I knew used to burn the bottom of it a bit at the end then mix it all in. Oh and a bulb of garlic in the middle to make it look nice. (cooks with the Paella and comes out all soft)

Add some white wine and try not to stir it too much.

Edit: Reminds me of Christmas day 2004. Had paella for lunch from a little shack on a beach in Fuertaventura – lovely.

For me it’s all about the sofrito – which is the onion and pepper mixture you fry at the start. Get this lovely and brown, almost burned, and it’ll give you the depth of flavour you need for a good paella.

Also, I like to stick a couple of lemon wedges in with the stock.

And fresh parsley is important. As is pimenton dulce, proper smoked sweet paprika.

Broad beans go nice in paella too.

And chorizo.

Mmmm

mastiles_fanylion – Member

And chorizo.

Mmmm

Burn him GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

To reply to the OP, cook it

Don’t skimp on the saffron – supposed to be the same price as gold (urban myth?) but since the rest of the dish is relatively cheap it’s not actually a big expense.

are you using smoked paprika? if not that’s worth a try – you can get sweet or hot types and both work well depending what you like.

I quite like mixing a bit of chorizo with a seafood Paella.

If you are in Edinburgh you should go to Lupe Pintos for all your paella needs – it’s overpriced, but they do actually know what they are talking about, and they stock a few things that you just can’t get anywhere else.

Second the Chorizo. Also, I like to use good quality chicken thighs, which I roast first before cutting up the meat and adding it to the paella. I also then add the juices to the stock. Are you taking your time to add the stock just a little at a time rather than adding it all at once? It’s very time consuming but it’s better that way.

I quite like mixing a bit of chorizo with a seafood Paella.

Second the Chorizo

Juan (sticks tongue out)

😉

Paella doesn’t have to be seafood, you can make it with rabbit and chicken for example.

My tip: don’t hurry it. Lots of stock, a hardish rice, and take time. Open a bottle of Ribera del Duero at the start to get you feeling all spanishy, and make sure you’re on the second before it’s done.

Back in 2006 I went to a wedding in Spain – the reception was in the groom’s parents’ house on a hill with wonderful views down to the coast in the distance.

The wedding breakfast was paella (unsurprisingly). Each table had a huge pan of meat paella and another huge pan of seafood paella.

Imagine my joy when I was the only one on the table that liked seafood – I got the pick of all the wonderful shell on prawns, octopus, clams…..

Mmmmm

I agree with most posters. Not the chorizo though. 😯
I prefer a mix sea food, prawns, winkles, muscles and rabbit, chicken and pork too.
Cook very slowly and don’t panic if it looks stodgy.

It’s not a true paella if it hasn’t got rabbit in it.

How could I have forgotten the chorizo?

Get it in quite early too.

And when you finish cooking, cover the whole thing with foil and leave it for 5 mins before you serve.

Perhaps it’s just me but I think Paella is overrated and more to do with where you ate it rather than what it tasted like. It’s just a simple rice based peasant dish with whatever meat/fish/shellfish you have lying around and nothing to get excited over. And it also takes about 3-4 hours to make properly.

Perhaps it’s just me but I think Paella is overrated

I concur it’s just you…
And no chorizo ARRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Although I like chorizo – too much would overpower a seafood paella…
I also like to have prawns and mussels in the shell for decorative effect

I thought this was going to be about kneecaps 🙁

Depends on the chorizo as to whether it would overpower the seafood. I like the difference in texture it gives and it isn’t like you have to eat every mouthful of prawn with an equal measure of chorizo at the same time.

Not dissimilar to a Chinese special fried rice – full of chicken, char-sui pork and prawns. The char-sui totally overpowers prawns if eaten at the same time, but not if eaten separately.

But each to their own I guess.