Spanish Cuisine

Paella

Cuisine: Spanish Created by Carlos Lopez

Carlos Lopez shares his delicious paella recipe with Food Safari's Maeve O'Meara. Traditionally paella is made on a Sunday and because women needed a day off from cooking, it is usually made by the men.

You might also like Frank Camorraâ€™s paella recipe from Taste le Tour. Also, view our collection of Spanish recipes.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g chicken breast fillet, diced
200g calamari, diced
300g Spanish Calasparra rice (allow about 80g per person)
750ml fish stock
10 strings of saffron
2 tsp Spanish paprika

4 large green prawns
8 fresh mussels
12 fresh pippies
200g peas
100g roast capsicum
1/3 cup chopped parsley

View Conversion table

Preparation

Heat oil in the paella pan over medium heat. Add onion, capsicum, tomato, garlic, chicken and calamari. Add rice and stir for 1 minute. Stir in stock, saffron and paprika.

When the stock is boiling and rice grains begin to swell, add crab and prawns. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the stock has reduced and the rice has begun to swell. Push the mussels and pippies into the rice and cook until the shells open. Finally add the peas, strips of capsicum and parsley and leave it for five more minutes on low heat.

Note:

- Grind the saffron thread with some salt in a mortar and pestle until it is like a fine powder. It will help to distribute it through the paella evenly giving a better colour and flavour to the finished dish.

- The perfect time to add the seafood to paella is when enough of the stock has been absorbed to allow the rice to be seen.

- Do not stir the paella during main cooking.

Spanish Restaurants

Displaying 10 of 218 Spanish Restaurants.

Restaurant		Suburb
1.	Raquel's Spanish Kitchen	Darlinghurst
2.	Legends	Manuka
3.	Cafe Gaudi	Phillip
4.	Moorish Cafe	Darwin
5.	Rhino Bar	South Townsville
6.	Alegria	Sunshine Beach
7.	Cafe Barcelona	St Kilda
8.	De Los Santos	Fitzroy
9.	Robert Burns Hotel	Collingwood
10.	Alhambra	Manly

06 Apr 2012 09:44 AEST

nelida hill

chipping norton nsw

paella

I make todas paella everyone like carlos lopez paella yammmy

14 Mar 2012 11:24 AEST

george

carlton

Where's the crust?

don't see no delicious golden crunchy crust?!

08 Mar 2012 05:36 AEST

Neprinol

Sydney

Paella

Yumm!! I can't wait to try this. Neprinol Peyronies

01 Feb 2012 09:38 AEST

susan

stanmore

Love it

Have made it about 6 times now and everyone loves it......Got a standing ovation last time. Love Spanish food.......It's my favourite. Have to travel around spain and just eat,eat eat....... what could be better..

22 Jan 2012 09:24 AEST

sue

kogarah

Loving this dish!

Ive been making this dish at least once every 2 weeks because my whole family loves it!!

07 Jan 2012 04:01 AEST

mafille

sorento

the paela

looks like risotto. and i dont like risotto, the rice is too soggy. 1 star for looks before dishing out

04 Jun 2011 03:05 AEST

Lara

University Park

hungry

That looks simply delicious and I am certainly hungry.custom QR codes

17 May 2011 11:03 AEST

Leah

Como

Rice

As of today, Scutti in South Perth no longer has the rice...

22 Apr 2011 04:30 AEST

James

Double Bay

QUE VIVA ESPANIA!

Looks great, Spanish food is my favourite from the south to the north the diversity and the flavours are fantastic.

08 Feb 2011 08:35 AEST

Dean

Perth

Is it Paella?

I am amazed at (apparently) Spanish people claiming that this recipe is not paella. I have had paella all over Spain, from the tourist dishes in Valencia (which is not where paella originates), chain restaurants in Salamanca, fancy restaurants in Barcelona and home-cooking in Baena. It can be regionally different, good or indifferent. This basic paella recipe will be improved with technique.Just don't call it risotto! The only similarity between paella and risotto is they both use rice and stock

30 Dec 2010 10:57 AEST

Chris

Five Dock

Missing Ingredient

The ingredient list is missing 1 x Blue Swimmer Crab (and also the paprika is Spanish Smoked paprika, I have the book). I am making the Gazpacho Andaluz and the Paella for NYE this year.

16 Dec 2010 09:59 AEST

gareth

griffith ACT

important bits

Hi. Some key bits. MUST use a paella pan - wide and shallow - allows stock to evaporate at right rate while rice still cooks. Stir initailly and leave alone - rice will cook but a special layer of crusty rice forms on bottom. Use home made stock (please). Use quality Spanish paprika - go to your deli and ask. Beware of cheap saffron. Let is rest (loosely covered with foil) for 10 minutes after cooking. Let people serve themselves from pan. Go for gold and buy a Spanish wine !!!!

10 Dec 2010 08:03 AEST

Suann

Footscray

The best

I saw this recipe on www.cookmybooks.com.au It is so fantastic!!! I've made it twice now

27 Nov 2010 03:31 AEST

El Tony

Mooloolaba

You beauty

I don't care where it's from or what is in it. I just love paella

25 Nov 2010 12:16 AEST

Gerry Skipper

Lyndhurst

Paella arguments

I don't really think that the arguments about content of the Paella really relevant. I was under the impression that the dish it is cooked in is called a paella, not what you put in it. As a previous person said, I have travelled all over Spain and Paella variations determined by where you are.

21 Nov 2010 11:50 AEST

Jess

South perth

Great recipe

The recipe calls for paprika is it the smoked paprika or the normal paprika? And if u wanted to make it more spice could u use cayenne pepper or fresh chilly

13 Nov 2010 07:52 AEST

Vronsky

Madrid

Don't believe the hype

Food for peasants once cooked by shepherds out in the bush meaning the true paella is made with snails and beans,the other variations are usually catalonian and in Galicia a paella was once prepared in honor of the coronation of some king or other,so due to the hype and how overrated it has become as a national symbol, the worst paella you can ever eat is in a restaurant in Valencia. Thumbs up in the above recipe for the use of Calasparra rice, saffron (most use coloring) & olive oil.

10 Nov 2010 08:45 AEST

Juan Carlos

kensington

Not Paella!

Sorry guys, that's probably called seafood rice! No idea how to cook paella this people have! Living in Melbourne, born in Valencia!, grandmother had a wood paella restaurant for more than 20 years. again, no idea!

28 Oct 2010 01:57 AEST

Jen

Perth

Thats not Paella

We live in an amazing world where so many ''food cultures'' combine. Many recipes are just slightly different depending on regions & peoples & have been changed, improved, experimented upon etc simply becoz we can. We have the ability & access now to many amazing ingredients. To me what one person calls something is irrelevant. The fact that u share these amazing recipes is more important & perhaps even for those 'die hards' that dont like change u might even learn something. Lets just enjoy!

07 Aug 2010 05:24 AEST

Sandra

Oakville NSW

Spanish Risotto

Hi, I am not sure why everyone is getting so heated up about. This recipe is being prepared by one of your own. Everyone has a variation on it.. In Northern Italy we call it Risotto. The basic process is the same. The additions and ingredients can vary. To me it looks like a great dish. Having had Paella in Spain I can honestly say that this dish is not the only one the Spanis can claim to fame. Spanish food is aongst the very best in the world. Well done on this dish.

29 May 2010 03:05 AEST

Mary

Clayton

Yum Yum

OMG!! I cannot believe some of the comments that people have made. I absolutely adore and love this recipe. It is fantastic. I have made this soooo many times and I am back on here looking for it because I am cooking it again for lunch tomorrow. Even my fussiest eaters love it and have asked me to cook it over and over again. if you haven't tried it, then you do not know what you are missing out. This recipe is my all time favourite!!!

25 May 2010 12:52 AEST

karen

Sydney

Attn AMY GRANT

Amy, Perhaps the reason why you and your family were sick is because you did not used fresh ingredients. My experience with food is that unless you are allergic to certain ingredients, vomitting or diarrhea is a sign of uncooked or food that has gone off.

30 Apr 2010 03:31 AEST

Jtrong

Newcastle

It's Aussie Paella!

I have traveled throughout Spain and I am a big fan of Spanish food. While in Spain I ate quite a lot of Paella in all sort of places - people houses, restaurants, cafes, markets, street stalls and so on. They were all different, there were seafood, various meats, rabbit, chicken etc, most were good, some were great. For those who don't have the opportunity to go to Spain, this recipe, perhaps, gives them a taste of what a Paella is and how good Spanish food could be. Let's not be too precious.

25 Apr 2010 03:54 AEST

Menganito

murcia

that's not paella 3

I agree with some of the other comments; too many ingredients. People have been shot for putting onion in paella. buutttt let´s not get extremist. do what you like but don´t call it paella and you will never offend anyone. Just one more comment, come over to spain and get it while you can, it takes about 30 years of practice to make a good one and it's a dying art.

22 Mar 2010 01:45 AEST

jcmos

flemington

that's not paella (2)

My gradmum had a paella restaurant for over 20 years. You cook it with wood, I will call the most important chefs in Melbourne and a few magazines to invite them to my house to show them how to cook paella and what paella taste like. It is a very diffucult dish to cook and many things can go wrong!. ingredients : chicken, flat green beans, white beans, tomato, saffron, rosemary, sweet paprika and stop counting, of course olive oil and salt.

22 Mar 2010 01:35 AEST

Juan Carlos

Flemington

That's not paella!

Hi, I am from valencia (Spain) where the paella is original from. I live in Australia and I'm sick of listening to people saying the "had paella and it was fantastic". Do you really know what the paella really taste?, that's what you think then!. In the real world is a cpmpletly different thing my friend. to say that you don't ever mix seafood with chicken!. to say that you don't ever put peas!, peas? oh my god! Sotck?, sorry but when cooking the paella you are making the stock!

21 Jan 2010 08:20 AEST

AS350

Kelmscott

success

Did this on sunday using the wok burner on the bbq as I was cooking other stuff on the grill. Brilliant result and great compliments from the table.

12 Jan 2010 10:18 AEST

Ana

Vic Park

Good recipe

Quite a good recipe, they explain very well how to get the paella done. The last point about not stirring is very important. I personally don't like mixing seafood and meat in paella, maybe only with chicken but I would never mix chorizo + seafood (won't see that in Spain...) I found calasparra rice in Scutti's, South Perth

04 Dec 2009 03:52 AEST

Eric

salter point perth wa

PAELLA - the best

I have alsways found that when adding a "meat" chicken, rabbit , Chirizo etc that you have to pan fry it off firstly with some Garlic and a little oil as it will not fully cook in the Paella. No problems with the seafood as it all cooks quickly. Make your own fish stock. take the heads of the green prawns that you have to put in the dish and with a few little pieces of fish and some fresh herbs just slowly cook up your own stock. Strain and use. Buy a cast iron Paela pan. treat it like a WOK

14 Sep 2009 01:07 AEST

Kalimocho

Canberra

Nice...

Nice basic recipe to start you off with. Once people feel confident in their 'paella ability' (ie: getting the rice right) you can try all kinds of ingredients like rabbit, pork, white beans and chicken (my grandma's recipe) or lamb, chorizo and even snails. In spain, every household has a different recipe....I even have an uncle who adds white wine to the sofrito (the onion, garlic, tomato mix) and rice before he puts in the stock. If you want to go 'really wild' you could try a 'black rice!

29 Aug 2009 05:05 AEST

Aden

Sydney

Great Paella Base...

Think of this as a great paella base. We've got some great Spanish friends and they have me using Chorizos and lamb in the mix. So we like to experiment a little with the ingrediends but use this recepie as the perfect base for Paella! We use Aborio (can't find calasparra) at 2:1 ratio but with Chicken Stock - adds so much more flavour. Paticurally if your not a massive seafood person, chicken stock is great with the Chorizos, Lamb and Chicken!

02 Jul 2009 09:47 AEST

Hannah

Freo

Where to find Calasparra Rice

Hey Derek, You can buy calasparra rice from Kakula's Sisters in Fremantle. Yeah Aborio never tasted the same and you have to adjust the amount of water if you use it.

22 Jun 2009 09:51 AEST

Dan

Surry Hills

Paella tips

@ros..... you will need to buy calasparia rice as it can hold up to 3 times its size in liquid...ie: 1 cup rice... 3 cups stock..... if you do use abborio rice .... you will need to cut back the stock to about 2 to 1........ With paella recipe's... feel free to add chorizo ... or whatever combination of seafood... chicken.. .rabbit ... etc u like.... thats how it is done in the villages of spain :)

29 May 2009 12:16 AEST

winston

tecoma

looks great...will try and cook it on the weekend

Can you tell me where can i get Ze spanish ingredients..ole.i love trying different meals,and see what they turn out like,so far have not had any bad comments from my family....OLE

20 May 2009 10:44 AEST

Ros

sydney

Tips please

It is a great recipe. However, I'm afraid my paella could only be called a risotto. I used arborio rice and used the amount of liquid recommended but it was very soggy. Could anyone shed light on why? Many thanks

05 Apr 2009 11:47 AEST

Derek

Perth

Yummy!!

This recipe is very very delicious! I can't find calasparra rice anywhere in my area so as was told by my spanish friend, I used arborio rice instead (I'm sure it will taste better with Calasparra). I've added in Chorizo sausages in mine and they were brilliant!

10 Jan 2009 11:43 AEST

Arjuna

Wanniassa

fantastic

It was good to at last find a good Paella recipe. Cooked it for friends and was a huge success. Will definitely make it again. Love it. Jenny from Sydney (see below) suggests that chorizos have been forgoten in ths recipe. However, adding chorizos would change the paella to more like a jambalaya!

10 Dec 2008 10:36 AEST

Jenny

Sydney

Awesome!

I tried it and it tastes great! But I think there's a Spanish ingredient that was forgotten - chorizos!

07 Nov 2008 08:31 AEST

meryn

coburg

super paella

thank you. its bin a delight to cook this one for my friends. the best way to cook for a lot of people.

Comment on this recipe

PLEASE NOTE: All submitted comments become the property of SBS. We reserve the right to edit and/or amend submitted comments. HTML tags other than paragraph, line break, bold or italics will be removed from your comment.