Easy Chicken Chorizo Paella Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in paella? ›

Sofrito. Sofrito is a flavorful mixture of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers that is used as a base for many Spanish and Latin American dishes, including paella. It's often called the "secret ingredient" in paella, as it adds a depth of flavor and richness to the dish.

Both Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay's go-to paella recipes include peas, chicken, chorizo and prawns. But new research has found that cooks from Valencia use just ten ingredients when making their national dish, none of which are fish.

Don't stir the rice while cooking! Traditional paella cooks a crusty, flavorful rice layer at the bottom of the pan called the socarrat. The socarrat is a key component of authentic paella. Also, stirring the rice will make it mushy.

Saffron is the most precious spice in the world and also a star ingredient in most paella dishes. Make the most of your paella night by using a high quality saffron.

Water is actually the most-often-used liquid in “authentic” paella, but stock is in many cases better. Chicken stock is all-purpose, and a not-too-strong meat stock will work nicely, too. Fish stock is fine as long as you're including fish, and a quickly made shrimp-shell stock might be your best alternative.

What Can You Not Put in Paella? Real paella does not include many ingredients that go into other rice dishes. Some of these include onions, peas, mushrooms, carrots, and chorizo. While all good combinations with rice, these aren't part of the traditional paella recipes.

You should have noticed their 10 essential ingredients do not include onions. That's because the vast majority of Valencians agree that onions do not go into a Valencian paella. Valencians say onions make the rice go soft.

The rice is cooked uncovered – this is a distinct cooking technique for paella compared to other iconic rice dishes of the world like Jambalaya and Biryani. Initially, we cook the rice for just 10 minutes – at this stage, it will be partially cooked though it will seem to absorb most of the liquid.

It's Spicy

Mexican chorizo is typically seasoned with vinegar and chile peppers, while Spanish chorizo is made with garlic and pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika, either sweet or hot), which gives it its deep brick-red color and smoky flavor.

Are you supposed to drain chorizo? ›

As you cook the chorizo, it will break apart similar to ground meat and produce grease. Consistently stir the chorizo until it has fully cooked, and drain any excess fat at the end of the cooking process.

When you're ready to serve, you can give the paella a crust. Put the pan over medium-high heat until the rice sizzles lightly and begins to smell toasted — but not burned — 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Truly great paella also relies on a flavoursome stock, which you can make yourself using prawn heads, parsley, wine, saffron and cooking juices from the mussels. Traditionally, paella is cooked over an open fire which infuses the paella with an aromatic smoke.

The broth, together with saffron and sofrito, a mix of olive oil, tomato, garlic, and paprika, are responsible for the paella's flavor. Lledo says that a cook should not overload the paella with ingredients, either meat or vegetables. He says limiting ingredients and letting each element of the dish shine is key.

While saffron can be expensive, it is an essential ingredient in Spanish cooking and particularly in the iconic dish of paella. The unique flavor and aroma that saffron brings to the dish cannot be replicated with any other spice, making it an indispensable ingredient in Spanish cuisine.

Paella was originally a midday dish for farmers and farm laborers in Valencia. Workers would gather whatever they could find in the rice fields. Tomatoes, onions, and snails were frequently incorporated. Rabbit or duck were popular additions, with chicken appearing less often.

Paella is characterized by its use of saffron-infused rice cooked in a wide, shallow, and round pan called a "paellera." A well made Paella is hard to find, and chances are, unless you've eaten Paella in Spain (and even then it's not guaranteed) the version you've eaten is likely a mediocre representation at best.

What ingredient is a must in your paella? Paella is mainly a rice cooked with meat and vegetables. The most essential part is: rice must be cooked with the broth of the meat/vegetables to transfer the flavour to the rice.