Eat for Less: How to Cook Delicious Spanish Paella in Under 35 Minutes

Spenish paella is a dish to impress.

It is tasty, it is fast and easy to cook and it is cheap. After all, it is a traditional dish for poor folk originating in Valencia, Spain.

Over the years, paella has become for Spain, what risotto is for Italy: a way to cook anything with rice.

My Spanish friends tell me that spenish paella is rice cooked with one kind of meat or vegetables. This means, you can cook seafood spanish paella, chicken spanish paella, chorizo spanish paella, vegetable paella etc.

The spanish paella recipe I’m sharing is not like that: it is a mixture of chicken, seafood and vegetables.

My Spanish friends also tell me that to make spanish paella I need special paella rice. I use risotto rice; I’ve also made delicious paella with basmati rice. I think any rice will do, you understand.

For me, the important thing is that paella is a dish that you can cook for a normal, family evening meal or for a special dinner party you are giving.

It is fast and inexpensive; well, at least until you add the saffron in the picture (you know that saffron is more expensive than gold, don’t you?).

#1. Spanish paella ingredients

To cook paella to serve 6 people, you need:

• 600 g rice
• 300 g chicken leg (I use boneless chicken thighs)
• 6-10 whole prawns (frozen king prawns are perfectly fine)
• 1 squid tube (again, frozen is fine)
• 1 ½ red pepper
• 360 g fresh tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 12 green beans
• 1 lemon (cut in wedges)
• 4-5 tbsps of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper for seasoning (I use these to season the seafood)

You will also need to prepare the stock for the paella using:

• 750 g chicken stock (using cubes is fine)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• A pinch of saffron

#2. Spanish paella preparation

Cut the chicken thighs in thick strips. Cut the squid in 3 millimetre wide rings. Put the chicken and the seafood on separate plates and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Chop the tomatoes and peppers in small cubes. Clean the green beans and cut in two.

If you have a paella pan use it; if you don’t a large pan will do.

Put the pan over the heat and coat it with the olive oil. Add the chicken and fry over a moderate heat until it is lightly browned; then transfer to a dish.

Add the squid and prawns to the pan (use the same oil) and cook them until their colour changes; then transfer then to the dish.

Add some oil to the pan and put the garlic in it; fry it until it’s fragrant.

Add the chopped tomatoes and stir.

Add the unwashed rice and stir.

Add the stock (the chicken stock with paprika and saffron), bring it to the boil and stir right to the bottom of the pan.

Add the chopped red pepper.

Add the fried chicken, some salt and pepper.

Add the squid, prawns and green beans.

Simmer until the rice appears at the surface. Than cover the pan (if you have a paella pan use aluminium foil; if you are using a normal pan use its lid).

Keep the pan on low heat for 8 minutes (I would advise you to try whether the rice is ready. Sometimes it isn’t and I have to add a bit of liquid and keep it several more minutes on the stove. Be careful with the liquid: it’s easy to burn the paella if there is not enough liquid but at the same time you want it dry.)

When the rice is ready, remove the paella from the heat but keep it covered; let it steam for 3-5 minutes.

Remove the lid (or cover), put back over moderate heat and keep for a minute or so.

Now, the paella is ready; and you are ready to impress your family or your dinner guests.

Serve with a lemon wedge.

Reading the instruction, cooking paella sounds fiddly and time consuming. In reality it is a very simple and quick dish to prepare.

I dare you to cook it!

photo credit: Paella en el bar “El desahucio” via photopin (license)