Classic Paella

In my book, the best kind of tradition is to invite close friends over, have a bottle of rioja (or, my favorite, Txacolina, if you want a refreshing white for a hot summer evening), and share a homemade dish from the heart. Come summertime, paella is just the thing. This Spanish dish is a guaranteed crowd-pleasing centerpiece for special occasions and parties, but honestly, this dish is enough reason to celebrate all on its own. With its beautiful and impactful presentation, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few tears are shed when you serve it. While it might not be the simplest dish in the world, it also really isn’t as scary to make as you may think. Plus, its signature taste, texture, and jaw-dropping look is more than worth the effort it requires.

Grab some friends (and some wine!) and get out the nice plates, then read on for all the ways to make your paella the best it can be:

How to get the best socarrat:
What makes a paella unique is the famous socarrat. It’s that thin layer of crisped rice at the bottom of the pan that holds the key to an umami house party in your palate—I’m talking Studio 54 party. The way you achieve this key player is by paying close attention during the last minutes of cooking. Listen to the crackling and peek through the rice in the middle to ensure that it’s browning properly and not burning (you can always hide the hole with a piece of shrimp 😉).

Take into account that the kind of stove you have can dramatically change the cooking time of your paella. If you don’t have a gas stove, just keep an eye on it more often.

Do I need a paella pan to make paella?
You’ll read in many recipes that you must have a paella pan… and that’s a lie. Of course, you can definitely invest in one (and you’ll look like a king or queen bringing it to the dinner table), but you only need a very wide and shallow pan. In this case, shoot for a pan with a minimum of 12"—this is what will give you the best socarrat. The more surface area for the liquid to evaporate, the higher the chances you’ll get a perfect socarrat.

The protein and veggies:
If you go searching, you’ll find countless opinions and millions of recipes on what the perfect paella mix-ins are. Some people put rabbit, some just put chicken, while others might like it with snails and shellfish. We went with Spanish chorizo, chicken thighs, and shrimp in our recipe, but paella really isn’t about the mix-ins. While they’re endlessly delicious and versatile (have you tried our vegetable paella?), the whole glue that sticks all of those proteins together is the rice.

The best rice to use for paella:
The rice is what makes a paella. That rich, perfectly al dente grain that’s bathed in chicken stock, smoked paprika, and our queen bee, saffron (don’t skimp on this last one!) not only is packed with flavor that can’t be matched, but has an eye-popping, signature color.

We use traditional bomba rice in this recipe, but if you can’t find it, you can use arborio. It’s important to respect the rice to water here, so: If you're using Spanish short-grain rice, it’s a 1:3 ratio of rice:water, and if you’re using arborio, use a 1:2 ratio.

Made this dish? Let us know how it goes in the comments below!