How do I make authentic paella?

| Kitchen Aide | Food | The Guardian 12/3/20 17(24

How do I make authentic paella?

Wars have been fought over less controversial issues, but the
secret of a proper paella lies in its humble Valencian origins •
Do you have a culinary dilemma? Email
feast=theguardian.com
Bob Granleese
Tue 10 Mar 2020
14.00 GMT

Spanish paella made in a traditional pan – the original of the dish did not feature seafood, but
chicken, rabbit and, occasionally, snails. Photograph: martiapunts/Getty Images/iStockphoto

I’ve tried to replicate paellas I’ve had in Spain, but none matches the colour, fragrance and
subtlety of the real thing. Where am I going wrong?
Chris, Paignton, Devon

Most people cock up paella because they stray too far from the dish’s humble, rural origins,
says chef and restaurateur José Pizarro. “Traditionally, it’s made with only 10 ingredients,”
he explains. “That is, olive oil, chicken, rabbit, green beans, garrofó [A-grade Valencian
butter beans], tomato, saffron, salt, rice and water or stock.” Depending on season and
location, he says that this base is supplemented with a few other ingredients, from garlic
and onions to peas and pimentón (smoked paprika) to game, snails or seafood, but that’s
about as far as you ought to go, or you risk tipping your Spanish rice into caricature territory.

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Spanish uber-chef Quique Dacosta, who last year opened his first UK restaurant, the paella-
based Arros QD in London, agrees: “All the ingredients are important, but the king is the
stock, because that’s where much of the flavour comes from.” For this reason, he never uses
concentrate or cube, and insists it’s made from scratch, “mainly because you have no
control over its quality otherwise, and also because the whole paella ritual always starts
with the stock”.

Angel Zapata Martin, head chef at the four-strong Barrafina group of restaurants in London,
makes his stock first by roasting the bones, trimmings and shells of whatever meat or
seafood he’s using in the paella, then puts them in a pot with shallot, carrot, fennel, garlic,
tomato paste and pimientos choricero (dried pepper) or pimentón, all topped with water.
“The secret is not to use too much, or you’ll end up with a bland stock,” he says. “Three
fingers above the solids is plenty.”

The type of rice is also critical, all three cooks agree, and it has to be Spanish medium-grain.
Pizarro and Dacosta recommend senia rice from Valencia, the home of paella, but say bomba
or albufera will also do the trick; Zapata is rather more specific: “The rice is key – I use only
Illa de Riu bomba from southern Catalunya, which benefits from the rich soil in which its
grown.”

Paella is, of course, named after the pan in which it’s traditionally made, and Dacosta is
adamant you shouldn’t really call it paella if it’s not cooked in one: “It’s just not the same in
a frying pan.” Zapata, however, isn’t quite so strict on this particular score: “Yes, a proper
paella pan is preferable,” he agrees, “but the closest you have to a very wide, flat pan should
be OK.”

Once you’ve fried off the sofrito base – diced onion, garlic, tomato and, perhaps, red pepper
– and browned the meat, stir in the rice to coat, pour in the stock … and leave well alone:
“Never stir paella,” Pizarro warns, a sentiment Zapata endorses: “It makes the rice go stodgy
and mushy.” We’re not making a risotto here, after all.

Dacosta uses 1,200ml stock per 240g rice, and cooks it for 20 minutes precisely – “We start
counting the moment the stock goes in the pan” – until the liquid’s absorbed and the rice is
plump. The Valencian way, he says, is to end up with a thin layer of flavour-filled rice with a
crisp base, or socarrat. To get the same effect, Zapata recommends leaving the pan on the
heat for a short while after the rice is cooked, “until you hear it sizzle and see the edges
crisp”. Mind you, Dacosta adds, “not all paellas have socarrat and not everyone loves it”.

Another flaw of many a dodgy paella, Dacosta says, is that “the vegetables are often horribly
overcooked by the time the rice is ready”, so add them only after it’s half-cooked. “And
always use proper saffron,” Pizarro says, “never turmeric or colourant – that’s sacrilege.”

A scattering of fresh herbs and a dash of lemon is all you really need to finish, but for a more
cheffy flourish, Zapata adds a picada for a last hit of flavour: “Blend saffron, raw or roast
garlic and white wine, then pour all over the paella and leave to soak in for a few minutes
before serving.” ¡Buen provecho!

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• Do you have a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

This article was edited on 11 March 2020 to correct the spelling of socarrat in an earlier
•

version.

Topics

Food
Kitchen aide
Spanish food and drink
Rice
Main course
Seafood
Shellfish
Chicken
features

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