I’ve never been to Spain, so I have only hints at what a great paella is or could be. In the meantime, the wonders of the Internet, restaurants, and lots of home tinkering have given me enough information to form an opinion.
The trick with paella is replicating the technical conditions a “traditional” one might be cooked under. That is, a giant wood fire with a very wide, very shallow pan. The term paella means “pan” in Valencian. Paella pans are readily available if you want one — they’re not strictly speaking necessary — but the heat source is more of an issue.
My workaround is pretty simple: only cook paella for one or two people at a time. Even on my (as of writing) circa 1980 GE electric range, this works. If you want to cook for a bigger group and don’t want to build a wood fire, a grill (gas or otherwise) actually does work pretty well.
The prototypical Valencian paella would have terrestrial protein, typically chicken, rabbit, or perhaps snails. You can make it with almost anything: add more and different veggies to do a veggie version, or swap in seafood, which is my favorite. If you can’t find one of the ingredients I’ve listed below, don’t hesitate to make a substitution. Haricots verts work really well in place of the runner beans, and if you don’t (or can’t) get only a handful of fresh mussels, no one will notice if you skip them. Though if you skip the rice, paprika, or saffron, I’m not sure you’re really making paella.
Special equipment
- Paella pan (optional)
Seafood paella
For 2 people
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and roughly chopped
- Handful runner beans
- Handful lima beans
- 1 tomato, halved and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 200 g short-grain rice (such as bomba or arborio)
- 500 g seafood stock (2.5 times the rice)
- Pinch saffron
- 100 g scallops
- 50 g shrimp
- Handful mussels, cleaned, in the shell
Method
For two people, you’ll want to use a very wide, very shallow pan. I would use a 12" (30 cm) frying pan. Wider would be better if you have it.
Heat that over high heat, then add a generous amount of olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the onions, peppers, and beans. Cook those until they’re charred and deeply colored, 5 to 10 minutes. This is not a dish that will preserve the food’s vibrant colors.
Then add the grated tomato and garlic, and cook them until the garlic is just golden and fragrant, maybe a minute. Add the paprika and stir to bloom it in the oil. Then add the rice and gently toast it.
Add the stock followed by the saffron, scallops, shrimp, and mussels. Use a spoon to arrange the seafood evenly, and then refrain from further stirring. The grains should be dry and separated: paella is not meant to be creamy like a risotto.
Keep the heat high and cook the paella for 10 minutes. Then drop the heat to its lowest setting and cook the paella until the pan is dry and the rice is cooked through, another 5 to 10 minutes. Optionally dust the finished dish with a bit more paprika, and serve it immediately.