If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend reading my About Paella post before digging into my paella mother dish technique.

The Elements

Spanish Chorizo

Straight off the top, I use this controversial ingredient. Using Spanish chorizo is pretty common for paella recipes in the US, but as noted in the About Paella post, some would vehemently declare that there should be no chorizo in paella. I start my paella by rendering the fats from finely diced Spanish chorizo, so the delectable flavors permeate the dish. Know that Spanish chorizo is very different from Mexican chorizo. Spanish chorizo is an aged dry sausage which is shelf stable when in its casing and looks like pepperoni. Mexican chorizo, also delicious in other applications, is a fresh sausage requiring refrigeration. I usually find Spanish chorizo in 6-8 oz links, and use half a link per recipe.

Short Grain Brown Rice

Again, this is not a traditional ingredient. Paella is, first and foremost, a rice dish. Traditionally it is made with white Spanish Bomba rice, a rounded medium grain rice which holds its firmness when cooked. I prefer brown rice for the whole grain nutrition. I also think it works well here because of the firmness which it maintains. The cooking process must be modified as brown rice takes more liquid and more time to cook. If treated properly, the result is nice.   

Sofrito

Like so many cuisines, many Spanish dishes start with a sauté of aromatics. Spanish cuisine refers to this sauté as sofrito. Traditionally, the sofrito will contain onion, garlic, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. For my paella, I always use onion and garlic. I use fresh tomato when in season, or a big dab of tubed tomato paste when they are not. I use peppers when they are in season, sometimes in the sofrito, sometimes as a vegetable in the final dish, and sometimes in both.

Seasonings

My seasoning list is short – smoked paprika, saffron, and salt. Smoked paprika is another controversial ingredient. Perusal of the Paella Wiki shows no paprika (or pimento as it may be labeled) in the traditional recipes. To me, smoked paprika says “Spain” more than any other single seasoning. It also brings the “over an open fire” smokiness to a dish cooked indoors. I also found it to be used in many of the recipes in Alberto Herraiz’s book Paella. Saffron is definitely a core seasoning of traditional paella. Saffron is a very expensive ingredient. In fact, by weight, it is the most expensive seasoning on the planet. The fact that saffron is a core seasoning may be why smoked paprika and Spanish chorizo (which itself is heavily seasoned with paprika) are shunned. They may bully the relatively more delicate saffron flavor. You should experiment with the ratios of these two seasonings to find out which balance you prefer.

Vegetables

Paellas are often protein dominant, incorporating several proteins into one dish with protein expected in every bite. I tone this down, so paella can be a balanced one dish meal. This is not a sacrifice. So many vegetables work with this dish’s flavor profile. I can make wonderful variations throughout the year, with each variation celebrating the current season. In the winter, I might use brussels sprouts and parsnips. In the spring I might use asparagus and fava beans. In the summer I might use corn, green beans and sweet peppers. In the fall I might use butternut squash and mushrooms.

Proteins

Like the vegetables, many proteins lend themselves well to this dish. There’s a bit of Spanish Chorizo already in the base dish, so I generally keep it to a single protein. The first decision is surf or turf. On the surf side I tend to use either shrimp or scallops. On the turf side, I go with duck or chicken. When it’s chicken, definitely the more flavorful thighs are preferred. Nothing is fixed in stone. I’ve used merguez sausage to great effect.

Stock

Paella is a dish where a really good stock can shine. A popular paella variant is “a banda.” A banda means “next to” in Spanish. For this style, seafoods are used to make a rich stock, and those seafoods are served separately while the “a banda” rice is prepared. Imagine a paella without the integrated proteins, but with all the flavors of those proteins provided by the stock. I do make some stock at home, storing by the quart in the freezer. But I use A LOT more stock than I make. I only use the homemade good stuff when the dish warrants an outstanding stock. Paella is such a dish. If you don’t make your own stock at home, don’t let that stop you from making paella. Just know that if you do occasionally make your own stock, paella is a dish where you might want to use it. Use a stock that matches the protein selection.

The Pan

Again, far from traditional, I use an enameled cast iron braising pan. Thick cast iron would be terrible for paella cooked in the traditional way, but it works well for the stove top and oven method that I employ. I have made this in a standard Lodge Dutch oven and it works well enough. But I prefer a braising pan for its shallow build and flat bottom. The one I use is by Tramontina.

The Method

The method is detailed in the recipe below.