Valencian Chicken & Chorizo Paella

About This Recipe

True Valencian paella uses only chicken, rabbit and snails. This accessible version adds chorizo for flavour. The non-negotiable elements are: bomba rice (to absorb liquid without becoming mushy), good saffron, and the socarrat — the crispy caramelized rice crust on the bottom of the pan.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 400 gbomba or Calasparra rice
• 600 gchicken thighs(bone-in, skin-on)
• 200 gcooking chorizo(sliced)
• 1 largewhite onion(diced)
• 1red pepper(diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 400 gripe tomatoes(grated or finely chopped)
• 1 tspsweet smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera)
• generous pinchsaffron threads(soaked in 100ml warm water)
• 1.2 litresgood chicken stock(warm)
• 100 gfine green beans(trimmed)
• 3 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
• lemon wedges and parsley to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the chicken

   Heat oil in a large (40–45cm) paella pan or wide shallow skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt. Brown skin-side down 6–8 minutes until golden. Remove.

2. 2

   Render chorizo and build sofrito

   Add chorizo, fry 3 minutes. Add onion and pepper, cook 8 minutes. Add garlic and paprika, stir 30 seconds. Add grated tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes until sofrito is thick and red oil separates.

3. 3

   Add rice — do not stir after this point

   Add rice to the pan. Stir to coat in the sofrito for 2 minutes. This is the LAST time you stir — from here on, the socarrat forms. Arrange chicken pieces on top.

4. 4

   Add stock and saffron

   Pour in warm stock with saffron water. Shake the pan gently to level the rice. Add green beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium simmer.

   Do not stir. Ever. The rice needs to cook undisturbed for the crust to form.

5. 5

   Cook and create socarrat

   Cook 18–20 minutes until rice has absorbed most liquid. In the last 2 minutes, turn heat to high for 2 minutes to create the socarrat (crispy bottom crust). You should hear a faint crackling and smell a toasty aroma — not burning.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Remove from heat. Cover loosely with foil. Rest 5 minutes. Serve from the pan at the table with lemon wedges.

Variations

• •

  Seafood paella (paella de mariscos): replace chicken with mixed shellfish, add at the end.

• •

  Paella mixta: chicken + prawns + mussels — the most popular version outside Spain.

Storage

Paella is best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days — reheat in the pan with a splash of water.

Frequently Asked Questions