Seafood paella | Seafood recipes | Jamie magazine recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in paella? ›

Sofrito. Sofrito is a flavorful mixture of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers that is used as a base for many Spanish and Latin American dishes, including paella. It's often called the "secret ingredient" in paella, as it adds a depth of flavor and richness to the dish.

The best paellas thoroughly cook the bottom layer of rice to create a crispy crust called socarrat. These bits of caramelized rice found on the bottom and sides of the pan are highly coveted, and will only form if you resist stirring the paella once the rice has been added.

Bomba is the best rice for paella. It's not only authentic to the dish, but the results are almost always perfect. Calasparra rice is an excellent substitute if you can't get your hands on bomba rice. Arborio Rice can work if you can't get bomba or Calasparra.

Salad: A simple salad of greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers is a refreshing appetizer that is perfect for paella. The salad will help to cleanse the palate. Soup: A bowl of gazpacho or a tomato soup is a warming appetizer that is perfect for paella. The soup will help to warm your guests up before the main course.

Water is actually the most-often-used liquid in “authentic” paella, but stock is in many cases better. Chicken stock is all-purpose, and a not-too-strong meat stock will work nicely, too. Fish stock is fine as long as you're including fish, and a quickly made shrimp-shell stock might be your best alternative.

What Can You Not Put in Paella? Real paella does not include many ingredients that go into other rice dishes. Some of these include onions, peas, mushrooms, carrots, and chorizo. While all good combinations with rice, these aren't part of the traditional paella recipes.

Saffron is the most precious spice in the world and also a star ingredient in most paella dishes. Make the most of your paella night by using a high quality saffron.

Due to the starches in risotto and paella, washing the rice would ruin the dish as starch is a big component of its success. "If you are cooking risotto or paella, you should not wash the rice because the washed rice draws out more starch and coats the surface of the rice's surface," says Chef Hamaya.

5. Cook uncovered: Cook paella uncovered for 15-18 minutes, then nestle the shrimp, mussels and calamari into the mixture, sprinkle peas on top and continue to cook (without stirring) for about 5 more minutes. Watch for most of the liquid to be absorbed and the rice at the top nearly tender.

In this country, Italian Arborio rice is often used as a substitute for Bomba, because Arborio is widely available. If you use this variety of rice, you'll need to adjust the liquid in your recipe so you're using two cups of water or stock for every cup of rice.

Is jasmine rice ok for paella? ›

What Kind Of Rice Do You Use To Make Paella? We love using medium grain or jasmine rice. You can also use Spanish rice if you can find it. The short, round grains are perfect for Paella and absorb liquid really well, which makes it the ideal rice for Paella.

Arborio rice – This short-grain rice is perfect for Paella because it absorbs flavors well and gives us that slightly crispy bottom layer. You can substitute it with other short-grain rice varieties like Bomba or Calasparra rice, which are traditionally used in Paella.

The best side dishes to serve with paella are tomato bread, Spanish green salad, patatas bravas, green beans, fried rice, gazpacho, roasted red peppers, garlic shrimp, Spanish omelette, marinated olives, grilled artichokes, and sautéed spinach with garlic.

Stir tomato mixture into rice until blended. Place paella in a large shallow bowl and serve with sprinkled pine nuts and cheese.

A chilled dry rosé from Navarra or Rioja (one of the more traditional bottlings, not the more fruit driven rosés made in a New World style) generally hits the spot perfectly but there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't drink an inexpensive red Rioja or other medium-bodied tempranillo or garnacha (grenache) or ...

'Adding chorizo to a paella should be an offence!'

The rich dish, which hails from the Valencia region, traditionally includes meat, fish, shellfish and vegetables - but not chorizo, and the inclusion of the Spanish sausage saw Oliver bearing the brunt of much outrage.

Paella is mainly a rice cooked with meat and vegetables. The most essential part is: rice must be cooked with the broth of the meat/vegetables to transfer the flavour to the rice.

Dishes such as paella would not be possible, or at least complete, without a pinch of saffron, the most expensive spice on the planet. Saffron is a spice derived from the three stigmas of the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.