Spanish Paella Valenciana
The Spanish Paella Valenciana is one of the most filling meals to make. The perfect rice dish that doesn't need a side!
Servings: 4
Calories: 652kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tablespoons oil (30g)
- 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs (657g) bone in
- 2 teaspoons salt (14g)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (3g)
- 1 large roma tomato (120g) 4 ounces
- 2 ounces judias verdes (or snow peas)
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup bomba rice (224g)
- ½ cup garrafon (butter beans)
- 2 twigs rosemary
Instructions
- Prep work. Cut your judias or snow peas into halves. Grate your tomato by using the biggest part of a box grater or use a food processor. Take the saffron, put it in a small dish, and add a little bit of water so it can get infused with the saffron. Set everything aside for later.
- Take your chicken and remove the skin (if you like the skin, you can leave it on). Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. If you have big chicken thighs, cut them into 6 pieces about the same size.
- Saute ingredients. Place your paella over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the pan is hot, add your chicken. Sprinkle about half of the salt around the pan and on top of the chicken. Sear the chicken for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken a few times to ensure that it browns equally on both sides.
- Move the chicken to the borders of your pan, and in the middle, add the paprika and the tomato. Saute for 2 minutes or until most of the liquid from the tomato has reduced. Stir while cooking to make sure nothing burns.
- Add the snow peas and 3 cups of water. Look where the water line is for future reference, because this is where the water has to be when you add the rice. Add the rest of the water. Add the rest of the salt and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Cook paella. Raise the heat to high and cook for 20 minutes or until you reach the first water line mark.
- Add the saffron water and stir. Add the rice, and spread it around with a spoon. Make sure to remove any rice that falls on top of the meat. Add the butter beans all around and the rosemary.
- Cook for 12 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the rosemary and lower the heat to medium, and finish cooking for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot, buen provecho!
Video
Notes
- Meat. In Spain, the paella will always have chicken if it is not a seafood type. Most of the time, it is a combination of chicken and rabbit. Sometimes, just like this recipe, it is made only with chicken.
- Rice. The rice used is always bomba rice. But if you still want to make it without it, just use a short-grain rice like arborio. But it will have a slightly stickier texture.
- Pan. The paella is the pan traditionally used, but you can still make paella without it. You can use a cast-iron pan, or stainless steel will work as well.
- Serving size. This recipe is suggested for 2 people, but I always make it for 4 people. So the yield will depend on how much you serve.
- Paring. One of the best pairings with a good paella is a cold traditional Spanish sangria.
Nutrition
Calories: 652kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1314mg | Potassium: 588mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 678IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 4mg
