# Paella recipes anyone?



## Donnelly (Dec 28, 2008)

I got a Paella pan as a gift and would like to know if anyone might have the best Paella recipe ever.  Or maybe I could try a few and decide for myself.


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## Adillo303 (Dec 28, 2008)

PaellaPans.com - Recipes

Welcome to DC

AC


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## merstar (Dec 28, 2008)

Here are two from Tyler Florence with top ratings and reviews:

Paella with Seafood, Chicken, and Chorizo Recipe : Tyler Florence : Food Network

Cuban-style Paella: Paella Cubana Recipe : : Food Network


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## BreezyCooking (Dec 28, 2008)

I consider Paella a "wing it" dish, as in "no recipe required". Nothing could be easier.

Just use a basic Saffron rice recipe - or cheat & use commercial saffron or "yellow" rice. Cook rice & gently fold in cooked green peas (fresh or frozen), quartered artichoke hearts, sliced roasted red peppers. Top with cooked pieces of chicken (small drumsticks or bone-in thighs work well); cooked sliced chorizo (or Italian) sausages; olive-oil sauteed squid rings, shrimp, crab, lobster, whatever; & live clams &/or mussels. Place in oven until shellfish open. Serve. In my case, with an assortment of hot sauces, a large green salad, & crusty garlic bread on the side.

Oh, & you don't need an official "paella pan" to present a nice paella. Before I bought my lovely Spanish terracotta Cazuela dish, I baked my paellas in a large wok - lol!!


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## Donnelly (Dec 29, 2008)

you make it sound so easy.  I think just planning what will go in and then shopping will take longer than making it.  I had a Paella that never went into the oven but most of the recipes I've seen have it going into one.  your thoughts?


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## BreezyCooking (Dec 29, 2008)

Mine goes into the oven for about 1/2 an hour at 350/400 degrees to cook/open the clams &/or mussels, heat everything through, & meld the flavors.

I imagine if you weren't using live clams/mussels you could get away with not baking it at all, but I still think it's nicer baked for that 30 minutes, even if everything is essentially precooked.


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## Adillo303 (Dec 29, 2008)

All done on the stovetop here.

AC


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## JimC (Dec 29, 2008)

*Paella Salad*

Here's a recipe that I developed a while back. This isn't a traditional paella  - it's a delicious salad - served chilled - that makes a complete summertime meal (or any time of year for that matter). It uses Orzo pasta instead of rice and has all of the good things found in many paella recipes. More saffron can be added depending on personal tastes.

_*Paella Salad*_

*Salad:*
1 pound orzo pasta, cooked and drained
1 /2 pound shrimp, cooked and diced
1 boneless chicken breasts grilled and diced
1 /2 cup red onions diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 /2 red bell pepper, diced
1 /2 green pepper, diced
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1/ 2 cup celery, diced
1 tablespoons parsley, minced

Cook pasta, drain and return pasta to the pot it was cooked in. Add remaining ingredients. Toss with dressing, transfer to a serving bowl and chill before serving.

*Dressing:*
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon saffron
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve over paella salad.


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## Seven S (Jan 5, 2009)

I dont mean to rain on anyone's parade here, but having received a Paella pan as a gift should be inspiration to learn how to make a Paella the right way.  By that, I mean doing it the way it was meant to be used.  Everything cooks in the same pan, be it at separate intervals.  Using the right grain of rice (no Uncle Bens parboiled, Basmati or long-grain) and real saffron, etc are fundamentals.  Cooking the chicken separately, and the rice separately and then assembling the dish in the Paella vessel just for presentation purposes to me is a waste.  But that is just my opinion.  I think it is a great opportunity to learn about a great culture, cuisine and classic dish.

NOTE: the links Adillo303 gave are a great start


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 5, 2009)

No worries - you're not raining on my parade - lol!!

I've cooked authentic/traditional paella a couple of times using my large carbon-steel wok (since I don't have a paella pan & didn't yet have my large pottery Cazuela dish) - making the saffron rice, cooking everything together, yadayadayada.  It came out fine, but also took the better part of a day to put together.  

These days, unless it's a special occasion, I simply don't have the time for all that when we're in a "paella" mood &/or all the ingredients happen to be on sale at the same time.  "Cheating" the way I do allows us to have a very enjoyable meal, & if it offends anyone's sensibilities, instead of "Paella", just call my version "Spanish Poultry, Seafood, & Vegetables Over Yellow Rice".  It'll still taste terrific to me!


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## Adillo303 (Jan 5, 2009)

Steven S - Please see the link that I posted. It will take you to a site that sells Paella pans and has recipes to make paella in a paella pan - Just what you asked for, I think - AC


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## Seven S (Jan 5, 2009)

Adillo303 said:


> Steven S - Please see the link that I posted. It will take you to a site that sells Paella pans and has recipes to make paella in a paella pan - Just what you asked for, I think - AC



yep, I saw the links... actually, I had those bookmarked from a couple years ago, good ones, thanks!


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## Baketech (Jan 5, 2009)

BreezyCooking said:


> Mine goes into the oven for about 1/2 an hour at 350/400 degrees to cook/open the clams &/or mussels, heat everything through, & meld the flavors.


 
How are you getting the soccarat? Do you return it too the stovetop?


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## QSis (Jan 5, 2009)

Adillo303 said:


> PaellaPans.com - Recipes
> 
> Welcome to DC
> 
> AC


 
Mmmm!  I am not big on seafood, so I'm going to try the Chicken, Artichoke, Red Pepper recipe from that site.  But add chorizo.  

I don't have a paella pan, but my wok should be okay, right?

Lee


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 5, 2009)

No soccarat (basically browned crusty rice on the bottom of the pan for those unfamiliar with the term) develops in my version because I use a pottery Cazuelas, which can't be used on a stovetop.  You could, however, get a soccarat if you used a large carbon-steel wok or a dutch oven (or a paella pan, of course).  To be perfectly honest, I don't miss the soccarat at all.

Like I've already said several times in this thread, my version isn't "authentic".  What it is is relatively easy, not terribly time-consuming, & extremely tasty.


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## BreezyCooking (Jan 5, 2009)

So long as your wok is carbon steel or cast iron & not one of the non-stick ones, it should be perfectly fine to use for paella.  I've made several very respectable & authentic paellas in my carbon-steel wok.


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## Adillo303 (Jan 5, 2009)

Lee - I think the wok will be fine. I agree metal would be preferable to non stick.

So far as the chorizo - Sounds yummy.

Personally, I would go 1/2 to 3/4 " on the cubes as opposed to 1 to 2 "

AC

I made Emeril's New Orleans Paella for 8. I used the turkey roaster pan. It worked great. I even got the crust on the bottom.


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## chadeasyspanishrecipe (Jun 21, 2009)

Paella is a special dish, and if you have time to make it properly, I agree with Seven S, it is very rewarding to do it properly.  The Spaniards proudly present this dish to you for your approval in Spain when you order it in a restaurant.  Don't take this the wrong way, but I think paella is a little like pizza.  As long as you have the basic ingredients on hand, you can always improvise with what else you have on hand to create something really great.  I make a paella for friends every other month or so, and it takes me about an hour or so to make it--definitely worth it!  Anyway, that's my two cents worth!


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## blissful (Jun 21, 2009)

I saw a program making this for a party. They were arriving home with bags of fresh vegetables and ingredients. It was a team, Rick Bayless and I think his daughter.

They began by prepping the vegetables - tomatoes and peppers and some broth.

Then they went outside to build a small temporary structure to heat the paella on. It was a ring of bricks as big as the pan and 2 or 3 rings of bricks high, with a fire built in the middle-on the patio or in the grass. The huge paella pan sits on top of the fire ring and the cooking can begin.

First the chicken was cooked in the pan. Then removed and kept warm baking in the oven. Then the choriso and onions and vegetables are cooked in the pan.

Then the rice and broth are added and cooked. Now add back the chicken and any seafood to finish cooking for a few minutes.
Sprinkle with peas and parsley and serve.

It looked like a really fun dish to make and eat for a large group of people. 

I searched out the recipe, Rick Bayless has a whole site of recipes. Here is the link.
Main Dishes - Rick Bayless | Frontera
Enjoy. ~Bliss


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## MexicoKaren (Jun 21, 2009)

Rick's "mexican" paella is interesting. I love poblano chiles and I'm sure they would add a welcome dimension to this dish. I've eaten paella in Spain, Mexico and good Spanish restaurants in the US. It is never exactly the same and it is always good. I think chadeasyspanishrecipe says it all 





> As long as you have the basic ingredients on hand, you can always improvise with what else you have on hand to create something really great.


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## Wyogal (Aug 18, 2009)

Here's the plan, I want to cook paella tonight, (this afternoon), using my outdoor DO. It's not very big, but I'm not serving a crowd, either.  I was inspired by a new natural chorizo, fully cooked, that I saw in a local, family owned, very small grocery store. I picked up that, along with some chicken thighs, and rice. Now I know that opinions differ, but I picked basmati, because I adore it. I also can't afford the saffron, so I'm missing a key component.  It was $23 at the regular grocery store. I need to go back out and pick up peas, forgot them... so I'll check another place.
anywho's
I also picked up some shrimp that were on sale, shell on "easy peel" raw frozen. I bought a small box of chicken stock, to use as  liquid, with a can of crushed tomatoes. Red peppers were on sale today, too, so picked up a couple of them as well.
I got onions and chilies at Farmer's Market Saturday.
I may try this over charcoal in the DO. It's not a big one, so will need to be careful about not making more than the DO can handle. Kind of a tending, cooking, all afternoon thing. Could top it off with a stroll and a cold one at the downtown FM tonight!


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## babetoo (Oct 8, 2009)

Seven S said:


> I dont mean to rain on anyone's parade here, but having received a Paella pan as a gift should be inspiration to learn how to make a Paella the right way. By that, I mean doing it the way it was meant to be used. Everything cooks in the same pan, be it at separate intervals. Using the right grain of rice (no Uncle Bens parboiled, Basmati or long-grain) and real saffron, etc are fundamentals. Cooking the chicken separately, and the rice separately and then assembling the dish in the Paella vessel just for presentation purposes to me is a waste. But that is just my opinion. I think it is a great opportunity to learn about a great culture, cuisine and classic dish.
> 
> NOTE: the links Adillo303 gave are a great start


 

did you take out a loan for the saffron? it is way expensive.


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