Spanish Paella
Ever since I had paella in Barcelona in 2017, I've wanted to try to make it myself. I figured this would be the most difficult recipe I've made to date, and I was correct. The estimated time on the receipe on Food Network's website (linked below) says 2hrs 45minutes but it ended up taking me around 4 hours. One challenge I ran into was the size of my paella pan; the contents of the pan were almost overflowing at times. This was not the case for Tyler Florence in the video on the Food Network website. I think a larger paella pan would have helped a lot, and would have also cut down the time it took the water to evaporate when simmering to cook the rice. Additionally, I turned the heat up too high to start and ended up burning some of the rice at the bottom of the pan. Next time I will keep the heat lower and anticipate the simmering taking more time. Regardless of those two obstacles, this was a very rewarding recipe to complete and tasted fantastic. It was almost as good as the paella I had in Barcelona!
Cooking Instructions
- 1
Combine the paprika and oregano in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- 2
Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve.
- 3
Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.
- 4
In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat.
- 5
Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains.
- 6
Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid.
- 7
Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook.
- 8
Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes.
- 9
During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. If they are not showing progress of cooking, boil them in a large pot for 5 minutes.
- 10
When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.
- 11
Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.