Paella Valenciana
The authentic Valencian paella made with chicken, rabbit, green beans, and saffron-scented bomba rice. Cooked in one pan over high heat until the rice forms a golden, crackling socarrat at the bottom — the most coveted bite in Spain.
About this dish
Paella was born in the rice fields surrounding Valencia in the mid-nineteenth century, cooked outdoors over an open fire of orange-tree wood. The original dish used whatever farmers found in the field — rabbit, chicken, and fresh green beans — never seafood, which is a later coastal adaptation. The flat, wide pan (also called "paella") is not just a vessel but a technique: it forces the rice to cook in a single thin layer, developing the coveted crisp crust known as socarrat.
- Gluten-free
- Lactose-free
- Not vegetarian because of Chicken thighs, Rabbit, jointed
Ingredients
- 400gBomba rice
- 500gChicken thighs
- 400gRabbit, jointed
- 200gGreen beans
- 2mediumRipe tomatoes
- ½gSaffron threads
- 1tspSweet smoked paprika
- 100mlExtra-virgin olive oil
- 1200mlWater
- 1tspFine sea salt
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a 40 cm paella pan over high heat. Season the chicken and rabbit pieces with salt. Fry until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Push the meat to the edges.
10 minTip: Real colour on the meat means real flavour in the rice. Do not rush this step.
Add the green beans to the centre of the pan. Sauté 3 minutes until slightly charred at the edges. Push to the sides. Add the tomatoes to the centre and cook, stirring, until they reduce to a dark paste, about 5 minutes.
8 minTip: The tomatoes must be cooked down to a concentrate — this is called the sofregit and it is the soul of the dish.
Add the sweet paprika and stir for 30 seconds — it burns quickly. Immediately pour in the water and bring to a rolling boil. Crumble the saffron into the pan. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes to build flavour.
10 minTip: The saffron blooms in the hot liquid, releasing its colour and aroma. Use real saffron — there is no substitute.
Taste the broth and adjust salt — it should be slightly saltier than you want, as the rice will absorb it. Spread the bomba rice evenly across the pan in a single layer. Do not stir from this point on.
2 minTip: Once the rice goes in, you never stir paella. Stirring breaks the socarrat and makes it gluey.
Cook over high heat for 10 minutes without stirring. The rice will absorb most of the liquid. Reduce to medium-low and cook 8 more minutes. In the last 2 minutes, increase heat to high to form the socarrat.
20 minTip: You will know the socarrat is forming when you hear a gentle crackling and smell a faint nuttiness. Listen carefully.
Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil or newspaper, and rest for 5 minutes. Serve directly from the pan with lemon wedges. The socarrat at the bottom is the prize — scrape it up and share it.
5 minTip: Paella waits for no one — serve it the moment it rests. It does not reheat well.