How to Make Paella Valenciana — The Authentic Albufera Recipe

Overview

This video provides a detailed guide on making authentic Paella Valenciana, strictly adhering to its protected designation of origin. It focuses on the ten canonical ingredients, excluding common additions like chorizo or seafood, and outlines the precise steps for cooking over an open fire, culminating in the prized socarrat crust. Experts share insights into the dish's peasant origins and traditional preparation techniques.

Ingredients

• 200 grams bomba rice or Calasparra rice (per person)
• Bone-in chicken thighs (cut into pieces)
• Rabbit (cut into pieces)
• Garrofó (large flat white Valencian lima bean)
• Bachoqueta (broad flat green Valencian bean)
• Ferradura (horseshoe-shaped green bean)
• Grated ripe tomato (never crushed)
• Half a cup extra virgin olive oil
• One full teaspoon sweet smoked pimentón dulce paprika
• One tenth of a gram saffron threads (per four servings)
• Water (approximately 6 cups for 4-person paella)
• One heavy teaspoon coarse salt (for meat, plus more for broth)

Instructions

1. Build a medium-high fire of orange-wood, vine cuttings, or olive-tree clippings under a wide flat paella pan.
2. Add half a cup of olive oil to the pan and heat until it shimmers.
3. Salt the chicken and rabbit pieces with one heavy teaspoon coarse salt total, then lay them around the perimeter of the pan and sear for twelve to fifteen minutes, turning until both sides are deep golden mahogany.
4. Push the meat to the center, add three cups total of mixed bachoqueta and ferradura, and a half cup garrofó, then fry for five minutes.
5. Push the beans to the side, drop the heat slightly, then add three tablespoons grated ripe tomato and one full teaspoon pimentón dulce sweet smoked paprika.
6. Toast the tomato and paprika for two minutes only, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
7. Add water to fill the pan exactly to the level of the rivets where the handles meet the pan (approximately six cups for a four-person paella).
8. Bring the broth to a rolling boil, then simmer for fifteen minutes.
9. While simmering, toast one-tenth of a gram of saffron threads in a dry pan over low heat for thirty seconds, crumble them into a small cup of warm broth, and then add them back to the pan.
10. Taste the broth and adjust salt; it should be slightly oversalted because the rice will absorb it.
11. Add two-hundred grams of bomba rice per person, sprinkled across the pan in a cross pattern, then redistribute evenly with a wooden spatula.
12. From this moment, do not stir the rice.
13. Cook the rice at high heat for eight minutes, then drop the heat to medium-low for ten minutes, for a total rice cooking time of eighteen minutes.
14. At minute fifteen of rice cooking, rotate the pan a quarter turn every minute to even out hot spots.
15. In the last sixty to ninety seconds of cooking, listen for a faint crackling sound (socarrat) and raise the heat to high for ninety seconds, sniffing for a toasted, not burnt, smell.
16. Pull the pan immediately once socarrat is achieved.
17. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and rest off the heat for five minutes.
18. Scrape the dark mahogany crackling crust (socarrat) from the bottom of the pan and serve a piece to every guest.
19. Garnish with quarters of fresh lemon (squeeze, never spread) and eat directly from the pan with wooden spoons, working in segments from the edge inward.

In this video

• True Paella Valenciana strictly adheres to ten specific ingredients per its protected origin denomination, established in two-thousand-twelve by the European Union.
• The traditional recipe explicitly excludes chorizo, onion, peppers, and seafood; adding them results in "arroz con cosas," not authentic Paella Valenciana.
• The official ten ingredients include bomba or Calasparra rice, bone-in chicken thighs, rabbit, garrofó, bachoqueta, ferradura, grated ripe tomato, extra virgin olive oil, sweet smoked pimentón dulce paprika, and saffron threads, plus water and salt.
• A wide, flat, shallow carbon-steel paella pan is essential, with one inch of pan diameter required per serving, ensuring even heat distribution over an open fire.
• An open fire fueled by orange-wood, vine cuttings, or olive-tree clippings is traditionally used to achieve the necessary complete and even heating across the entire pan surface.
• The broth should be slightly oversalted before adding rice, as the rice will absorb the excess salt, balancing the final flavor.
• Once the rice is added, it must not be stirred, allowing it to cook high and dry and facilitate the formation of the crucial socarrat.
• Socarrat is the desirable dark mahogany crackling crust of caramelized rice that forms on the bottom of the pan during the final sixty to ninety seconds of cooking.
• To achieve socarrat, listen for a faint crackling in the last sixty to ninety seconds, raise the heat to high for ninety seconds, and pull the pan immediately when a toasted (not burnt) smell is detected.
• Paella Valenciana is traditionally eaten directly from the pan with wooden spoons, working in segments from the edge inward, and garnished with squeezed fresh lemon quarters.

Frequently asked questions

What are the essential ingredients for authentic Paella Valenciana?

Authentic Paella Valenciana requires ten specific ingredients: bomba or Calasparra rice, bone-in chicken thighs, rabbit, garrofó, bachoqueta, ferradura (three types of green beans), grated ripe tomato, extra virgin olive oil, sweet smoked pimentón dulce paprika, and saffron threads, along with water and salt.

What ingredients should NOT be used in true Paella Valenciana?

Traditional Paella Valenciana, according to its protected origin denomination, does not include chorizo, onion, peppers, or seafood. Adding these would result in "arroz con cosas" (rice with stuff), which is not the authentic dish.

How is socarrat achieved in paella?

Socarrat is created in the last 60 to 90 seconds of cooking by raising the heat to high. Listen for a faint crackling sound and pull the pan immediately when you smell a toasted, not burnt, aroma, ensuring the rice caramelizes against the metal.

What type of pan is best for Paella Valenciana?

A wide, flat, shallow carbon-steel paella pan is ideal. The pan diameter should be approximately one inch per serving; for example, a four-person paella needs a fifteen-inch pan.

How much rice is used per person for Paella Valenciana?

The recipe recommends two-hundred grams of bomba or Calasparra rice per person for Paella Valenciana.