classic paella

Flavoured with regular and smoked paprika, this light and easy take on the classic and very popular Spanish rice dish is made with chicken and garnished with hard boiled eggs.* For vegetarian or a meat free option simply substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock. The chicken can be substituted with prawns or shrimp – or leave out entirely.

Classic Paella

hard boiled eggs, sliced

500 g boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 cm strips*

salt

onion, diced

red capsicum, diced

garlic,

paella rice

paprika

0.5 tsp smoked paprika

saffron

(750 ml) reduced-salt chicken stock*

tomatoes

bay leaves

peas

tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in large pan on medium heat; add chicken and half of the salt and pepper and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove from pan; set aside.

Heat remaining oil in pan; cook onion, red capsicum and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in rice and paprika, smoked paprika, saffron and remaining salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until rice is well coated.

Stir in stock, tomatoes and bay leaves; bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir in peas; cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Arrange chicken strips over paella. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish with hard boiled eggs and parsley.

This easy seafood paella recipe will get you a plate of rice every bit as delicious as the stuff served in tapas bars from Barcelona to Valencia! Just make sure to bring an empty stomach.

Traditional Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

olive oil ((80 ml))

onion (finely diced)

garlic

sweet paprika (Spanish pimentón de la Vera

squid

rice ((380 g) see notes)

white wine ((240 ml))

seafood stock ((720 ml))

prawns (or jumbo shrimp, shells

mussels

In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the white wine and seafood stock to a simmer. Add a pinch of saffron threads and keep warm.

Meanwhile, put a large (16-inch) paella pan (see notes) over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion to the pan and saute until translucent, stirring often.

Add the garlic and cook until aromatic (about 1-2 minutes). Before it starts to brown, add the tomato and stir, adding in the paprika and a pinch of salt. Continue to stir and saute until the tomatoes are reduced and the oil is sizzling.

Gently add the squid to the pan and stir to coat in the tomato mixture. Saute for about a minute, to give some color to the squid.

Next, add the rice and stir to combine. After a minute of sauteing, spread the rice evenly across the pan (don't worry if it looks like a thin layer, it will puff up).

Gently add the simmering white wine and stock to the pan, all in one go. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Carefully lay the prawns/shrimp in a circle on top of the rice and cook for a further 10 minutes, turning the shrimp over as they start to turn pink. If the rice starts to dry out before the shrimp is cooked, you can top it up with a bit more hot stock, half a cup at a time.

Meanwhile, steam the mussels by putting them in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid in half an inch of water. When the shells open, they are cooked! (Discard any that do not open).

When the stock in the paella pan fully evaporates, you will hear a faint cracking from the bottom of the pan as the socarrat starts to form. If you don't hear anything, you can raise the heat to medium for a short burst!

When the rice is ready, remove the pan from the heat and arrange the mussels on top of the rice. Serve from the pan, with wedges of fresh lemon.

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Classic Paella

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The most viewed classic paella recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine