How to Make Easy Paella plus the Ingredients

Because cooking a Paella is full of mystique and confusion, we now are going to explain Spain’s most famous dish in a full guide.

We will learn the basics so you can understand how a real, traditional Paella is cooked, its ingredients, and learn its true process and secrets.

And at the same time we will learn how with Paellita you will be able to cook an amazing Easy Paella, as good as a traditional, in a much easier process: in just 20 minutes and 6 steps but without compromising any of the quality.

Also, if you are looking for deeper information on the traditional recipes, you can find our guide for that here.

Index

What are the Ingredients of an Easy Paella

*The traditional ingredients of a Valencian or Meat Paella, based on chicken and rabbit, plus tomato, beans, olive oil, basil, saffron, paprika, salt and obviously, Bomba rice*

So then, what are those ingredients that the people of Valencia started using to create what’s now one of the most iconic dishes in the world and without a doubt Spain’s most famous one?

Well obviously as we have mentioned above, those that are part of the landscape of Valencia, being the most important and fundamental ingredient the rice: the most universal food and clearly the one that has brought more people together in this world.

As you can read in our post, Paella tastes much better when the right kind of rice is used, due to its particular properties when absorbing the base.

That is the Bomba rice variety, the original rice from the Valencian landscape.

*A very in detail picture of rice from Spain, ideal to prepare a beautiful Paella*

To read more in depth about the importance of the rice, check our “What type of Rice”.

But what other ingredients are used in Paella? As well as the rice, the rest of the ingredients are typical of the Valencia area.

The Basics:

– Bomba Rice
– Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt
The animal protein:

– In the case of meat or Valencian Paella, it would basically be small animals, chicken and rabbit.
– In the case of fish or seafood Paella, those of the Mediterranean Sea, such as mussels, squids, shrimps and fishes like monkfish.
And the vegetables. The classical ones from the land were:

– Green beans and a particular type from Valencia bean, the “garrofón”
– Green and red peppers
– Tomato
– Artichokes
– Garlic
– Onion
– Basil

These ingredients have been the base for Paella since its origins and are still the most traditionally ones used.

How to Cook an Easy Traditional Paella

We are now going to review the easy process of the traditional way of cooking a Paella.

A recipe that involves skills and time, since it takes a good amount of time of preparation and the right touch to properly balance the different ingredients in order to obtain a well, evenly made rice.

As we have explained in our previous historical post, “What is Paella”, it was a dish that, when people used to go to work, 2 or 3 of the workers or family members would stay back home just collecting the ingredients and cooking them so by the time everybody came from work, they could celebrate life while sharing the amazing dish.

A painting of a typical day of the fields in La Albufera, Valencia, where the rice workers collect the rice, even with the help of horses, while one of them takes care of the rest by cooking what we are sure is a lovely Paella

Thus, Paella is a dish that requires Patience, Attention and mostly Love, since it is cooked at a very low fire, synonym of knowing how to live, and for others in mind, symbol of sharing.

So let’s dive now into the process of how to cook a true authentic Easy Paella. And when we talk about an authentic version, we are talking about the most pure and traditional version of it.

Keep in mind that it usually takes about 2 hours to cook an authentic Paella and a good, earned set of skills… So, why so much time?

Because that is the way for the base to obtain the right creamosity and texture from all the ingredients so that when adding the rice, it will integrate the starch of the grain, giving it its beautiful and delightful taste plus its iconic texture.

The Step by Step Guide for the Traditional Paella Cook

Since we understand that Paella is a dish full of mystic and confusion, we have developed the ultimate guide to understand how to cook a traditional spanish Paella, as usual, in an easy and simple way.

Here you will find the basic general steps to prepare a delicious Paella as well as the ingredients needed for the traditional recipes, because the principles are the same regardless of the ingredients:

Meat or Valencian Paella
Fish or Seafood Paella and
Vegetable Paella.

However, If you want more specific information about the recipes, quantities and kind of specific ingredients, you can check our Recipes Guide.

Plus some extra advice that will help you prepare the most amazing rice, the glorious dark and crispy “Socarrat”, the most precious prize of Paella rice.

Keep in mind that while these guidelines are made for you to understand the whole process of cooking a classical and traditional Paella the Valencian way.

However with our Paellita base you will only need to focus on the ingredients and our 6 Easy Steps for you to make a fantastic Paella and in just 20 minutes!

The Five Classic Steps

Essentially, we can say that in order to cook an authentic Paella, we can divide the process into 5 main steps.

Step 1 – Prepare the Fire

*A beautiful picture of a Paella being cooked the traditional way, through burning wood*

Time: 5 minutes

Usually Paella was cooked with wood, but in the modern times, for practical matters, it is common to use a classical gas equipment and a Paella pan. Keep in mind that the traditional way of wood will give the Paella a richer taste due to the woody flavor and aroma.

When starting the fire there is only one important thing to know: it has to be a low fire, for the ingredients to be cooked slowly so the base can be created with the right flavor and texture.

Step 2 – Adding the Protein

*Chicken and Rabbit are the basic animal ingredients of the Valencian Paella*

Time: 45 minutes

Once we have started the fire, it’s time to add olive oil and salt that will create the base where the ingredients will deposit its flavour that will later be sucked by the rice (we will repeat this when adding the meat so it doesn’t splash us).

After adding the olive oil and salt, it is time to add the animal protein, whether its meat or fish (chicken, rabbit, chorizo, fish, seafood, etc) and season it with a little salt.

Fry the meat or fish until it is lightly browned and season with a little salt once again. We continue to fry until the meat is well browned and let cook at low fire for 45 minutes.

Step 3 – Add the Vegetables

*A balanced distribution of the ingredients is critical to obtain a well balanced Paella*

Time: 45 minutes

Once the protein has started to cook, we must make space for the vegetables by separating the protein, and then it’s time to add the beans and vegetables.

If the beans are dry, it is recommendable to soak them overnight with water so they hydrate. We then drain the beans, remove the tips of the green beans and cut each bean into three pieces (we can do it by hand).

Add the rest of the vegetables, season with a little salt and fry. Add the grated tomato and continue to fry.

The reason for this way of procedure is so the vegetables can mix with the protein and olive oil, creating the famous cremosity of the base that will later bathe the rice and give the Paella it’s celebrated texture.

We add the rest of the ingredients and let it cook at low temperature.

Step 4 – Add Water

*Before adding the rice, we must add water to get the right Base*

Time: 2 to 3 minutes

Once the ingredients have mixed properly with the olive oil, it is now the time to add the water so the right base will be created.

It is of critical importance that the pan is well balanced so water is equally distributed for the rice to be cooked. Remember that this is a dish to be shared, and we want all of our guests to have the same experience!

Add the sweet paprika and stir immediately so that it does not burn. Then we add the water to cover the rivets of the handles.

It is at this moment when we must raise the temperature until the water starts boiling and we add saffron, plus the coloring to taste and rosemary just a bit before we add the rice for about 2 to 3 minutes.

When the paella base has cooked for 25 minutes, remove the rosemary and we will see that the base will be just below the rivets of the handles. If necessary we will rectify the salt.

Step 5 – Add the Rice

*It is important to add the Bomba rice in an evenly way so it gets equally distributed*

Time: 20 minutes

Now that water is boiling, we add the rice in an evenly manner through the pan and distribute it equally. We must now again lower the temperature and let it cook for about 20 minutes: the first 5 minutes over high heat and the remaining 15 over medium-low heat.

After those 20 minutes, we will turn off the fire and let the rice rest for about 5 minutes so that it finishes calmly and firmly and, if possible, covered with kitchen napkins.

Before serving at the table we can decorate with lemon and a few branches of rosemary.

Remember that with the right rice, the Bomba rice, we will ensure ourselves that the Paella has the right taste and texture, dry and loose.

Extra Step – The Socarrat

That dark, crispy and a bit burnerd Paella rice is actually the most desired one — *That dark, crispy and a bit burned Paella rice is actually the most desired one*

If after the 20 minutes, we let the lower layers of rice dry, it will burn a bit and get dark and crispy, but we will have the famous, celebrated and highly demanded “socarrat”!

You can read more about it on our own “socarrat” recipe post here.

So here it is, the classic steps when cooking the traditional recipes for the authentic Paella: meat or valencian Paella, fish or seafood and vegetable.

A Practical Guide to Cooking an Easy Paella

*Two different Paellas being cooked with the Paellita method*

However, due to practical reasons, we have simplified the 5 classic steps into a series of 10 concise, straight to the point, steps that will be easier to read while cooking our Easy Paella:

Add the olive oil in the Paella pan once it is hot and add salt to taste (we will repeat this when adding the meat so it doesn’t splash us).
Add the animal protein, whether its meat or fish (chicken, rabbit, chorizo, fish, seafood, etc) and season it with a little salt. Fry the meat until it is lightly browned and season with a little salt once again. Continue to fry until the meat is well browned.
Time to add the beans and vegetables. If the beans are dry, it is recommendable to soak them overnight with water so they hydrate. We then drain the beans, remove the tips of the green beans and cut each bean into three pieces (we can do it by hand).
Add the rest of the vegetables, season with a little salt and fry. Add the grated tomato and continue to fry.
On one side of the paella we toast the saffron, add the sweet paprika and stir well immediately so that it does not burn.
Then we add the water to cover the rivets of the handles.
When it starts to boil, add coloring for taste and rosemary just a bit before we add the rice.
When the paella broth has cooked for 25 minutes, remove the rosemary and we will see that the base will be just below the rivets of the handles. We rectify the salt if necessary.
It’s time to add the rice. It is very important to distribute it well over the paella pan and let it cook for around 18 minutes: the first 5 minutes over high heat and the remaining 15 over medium-low heat. After that, turn off the fire and let the rice rest for 5 minutes, covered with kitchen napkins.
The Socarrat. The last fundamental step is not to stir it and raise the heat to maximum power when the broth begins to decrease, we will do so only during the last minute of cooking so that the grains can get the desired reaction.