Sometimes I think that paella is not a recipe, but a technique. What I mean is that there are a few considerations to take into account to make it right, to end up with a final dish that is not only tasty but appealing to the eye. Practice, and the experience that comes with it, will be your best guide. Therefore I would suggest that you make a few paellas for your family before attempting to make one for a large crowd. In the meantime, I’d like to share some techniques that Valencians follow, as well as some tips that have worked for me when cooking paella in the Midwest:

1. As with any recipe, but particularly with paella, buy the best ingredients you can. You will need saffron, and pimentón, or Spanish Paprika (I use Pimentón de la Vera), and extra virgin olive oil. It is worth the investment, as a little bit of these ingredients will go a long way, and you’ll be able to use them in many more Spanish recipes that you can find in this blog. Make these ingredients a part of your pantry. They will give your paella not just the flavor it needs, but also the right golden-brown color.
   

   Saffron threads

   

   Pimentón de la Vera

   

2. Paella is a rice dish, and as such, the rice is the star and main ingredient. Anything else you add to it (chicken, seafood, vegetables, etc) are there to add flavor to the rice, and not to take center stage. You might make a paella with great tasting ingredients, but if the rice is not, your paella will not be a success.
3. There are different schools of thought as to when to add the rice to the pan, before or after you add the liquid. The rule, in general, is that for paellas cooked on the stove, the rice will be added first, and then the liquid, which will be hot before adding it to the rice. If the paella is cooked outdoors (on the grill or on a fire pit), all the ingredients will be heated on the pan, and therefore the liquid will be added first.
4. I have a 6 burner ceramic stovetop, and none of the burners are large enough for the paella pans I usually use. Since the whole bottom of the pan has to be in contact with the heat source, I straddle the pan over 2 or 3 burners (depending on the size of the pan I’m using) and rotate it periodically. This “problem” disappears when cooking the paella outdoors over a fire pit or on the grill.
   

   Paella by Jacobo Sempere

   

   Photos by Jaime Sempere
5. Paella calls for short or medium grain rice.The best varieties to use are Calasparra and Bomba, which grow only in Spain; Calasparra grows in the mountains of Murcia, and Bomba grows near Valencia, in the Albufera (a freshwater lagoon that is separated from the Mediterranean by a thin strip of land). These kinds of rice are inexpensive in Spain, but can be a bit pricey and hard to find in the United States, so I usually use them on special occasions, and opt for a medium grain rice when cooking for my family (not that my family is not special! They just love my paellas in any form). Although a no-no in Spain, I’ve even used long grain rice on my paellas. These don’t absorb the liquid as well as Bomba or Calasparra rices, and therefore the resulting rice is not as tasty. But at the same time they are more resistant to “opening” and don’t release as much starch as the medium grain varieties that are commonly found in American supermarkets. Sometimes, I need to go that way.
6. The starch in the rice is needed in the dish, so never wash the rice before adding it to the pan. At the same time, paella is a dry dish (as opposed to risotto, which is moist). For this reason, after adding the rice and liquid to the pan and distributing the rice and all the ingredients evenly, making sure every grain is under the surface of the liquid, NEVER stir the rice in the pan again.                    
7. Do not cover the pan while the rice is cooking. If you see that the surface of the rice is still harder than it should be, and most of the liquid has evaporated, keep adding liquid by the spoonful, and resist the temptation to cover the pan.
8. The rice will need to cook for approximately 18 minutes, the first 8 or 10 minutes over high heat and the rest over low heat.
9. Although when pressed for time I’ve had to cook a paella a bit in advance, it is preferable that rice be added to the paella when all the guests are present. A shortcut you can take is to cook all the ingredients except for the rice ahead of time, cover the pan with aluminum paper, and then add the rice shortly before eating.
10. As the rice cooks, a thin layer of rice in the bottom center of the paella will become crusty. This, called socarrat (from the Valencian word used for burned), is considered a delicacy, so scrape it with the edge of a wooden spoon and distribute it amongst the diners. They’ll thank you for it!
11. Paella doesn’t have onion. This is a bit surprising to many people. Paella is a dry rice, and onions are a “wet” vegetable that adds unnecessary moistness to the dish (not to mention flavor).
12. You don’t want rice grains that are “open”, over-cooked. When this happens, we say that the arroz “se ha pasado,” is passed, and you better toss it. You don’t want this to happen! So use a light hand with the liquid.
13. The finished paella needs to “rest” for a few minutes, in its pan, before serving, for the last of the grains to finish cooking. In Valencia, we cover it with pages of newspaper, but you can also use paper towels.
14. Wedges of lemon are added to paella mostly for looks. When I see guests sprinkling lemon over paella I figure that the rice didn’t turn out very tasty (or that they are not Spaniards!)
15. In Spain, paella is a lunch dish —it is considered too heavy to be eaten at night. However, usual lunch time in Spain is 2 to 3 PM, and dinner never starts before 9 PM, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t eat paella that late. When I make paella in the US, I plan for an early dinner, 5 to 6 PM, no later.
16. Paella is a “plato único,” a one-course meal, and it’s usually accompanied just by a simple salad —and preceded by a couple of light appetizers and a glass of wine while it cooks!
17. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating, as this is one of the most important factors in achieving a great tasting paella: invest in a paella pan (the carbon steel kind is an inexpensive option) or use a shallow skillet. Always resist the temptation of using a pot!
18. When paella is brought to the table, your work is done. Enjoy! (and let others do the dishes)

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