Spanish paella recipe. Paella - what kind of dish is this? Recipe for Spanish paella. What kind of rice is needed for paella?

Spain is famous for its gastronomic diversity: an abundance of vegetables, seafood and meat inspires the creation of aromatic gourmet dishes. One of these is paella, the classic recipe of which is known to everyone in this hot country since childhood. A simple and satisfying meal prepared on a rice basis, there are various versions that are recognized as traditional in world cuisine.

Spanish paella, being the hallmark of the country, just like its homeland, amazes with its variety of recipes. Each region has its own way of cooking, including hot and spicy spices, smoked meats or peas. Paella is a classic Valencian recipe that is one of the most popular in the country. Considering dozens of versions, they are all united by one principle - the use of basic ingredients: rice, vegetables, meat or seafood.

Ingredients:

• rabbit meat - 400 g;
• chicken - 700 g;
• round rice - 400 g;
• white beans - 150 g;
• green beans - 150 g;
• green pepper - 1 pc.;
• artichokes - 2 pcs.;
• tomato paste - 100 g;
• olive oil - 50 ml;
• saffron threads - 4 pcs.;
• water - 500 ml.

Preparation

1. Fry the pieces of meat for 5 minutes.
2. Add peeled artichokes, two types of beans and pepper.
3. Add the paste, water and simmer for half an hour.
4. Add rice, saffron, add a little water and simmer for 20 minutes.

Paella with chicken is one of the traditional options, completely adapted to our cuisine. With the right selection, available products can decorate a dish; you just need to follow the recommendations. You should use fluffy rice: Iberica or Arborio varieties and do not buy fatty parts of the carcass, as the broth will add the necessary juiciness to the components.

Ingredients:

• chicken legs and wings - 700 g;
• rice - 200 g;
• chicken broth - 600 ml;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• sweet pepper - 2 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• ground paprika - 2 teaspoons;
• vegetable oil - 50 ml.

Preparation

1. Fry the chopped legs and wings until golden brown.
2. Combine with vegetables and simmer until the moisture evaporates.
3. Fry the rice in a frying pan, season and pour in the broth.
4. Simmer for at least half an hour, then increase the heat to obtain a crust.

Classic paella involves a variety of products that can be combined with each other. Mixing poultry and seafood is not encouraged, and therefore it is combined with spicy smoked sausages, which perfectly complement the bland dietary meat and fill the food with aromas. Bright vegetables add color to a Spanish dish made in an hour.

Ingredients:

• turkey fillet - 500 g;
• smoked sausages - 150 g;
• rice - 200 g;
• green peas - 100 g;
• sweet pepper - 1 pc.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• broth - 600 ml;
• vegetable oil - 50 ml;
• saffron threads - 5 pcs.

Preparation

1. Fry the pieces of fillet and sausage.
2. Add chopped vegetables and simmer for a couple of minutes.
3. Add rice and season with saffron.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and simmer for about half an hour.

Classic seafood paella involves the use of assorted seafood. Being a poor man's food, the presence of uncleaned fresh animals and simple vegetable components was the norm. The modern approach has become somewhat different, but the motto “simple and accessible” has remained. This version involves a frozen seafood product, which is quite justified.

Ingredients:

• sea ​​cocktail - 500 g;
• rice - 300 g;
• green peas - 100 g;
• sweet pepper - 1 pc.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• tomato puree - 200 g;
• saffron threads - 4 pcs.;
• lemon - 1/2 pcs.;
• olive oil - 40 ml;
• water - 500 ml.

Preparation

1. Brew the saffron.
2. Fry the prepared seafood a little, add chopped onion.
3. Add the rice and keep it on the fire, stirring. Add seasoning and water.
4. Add the puree and simmer until it evaporates.
5. Add peas and chopped pepper after 10 minutes.
6. The classic paella recipe is complete, garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Paella with shrimp - recipe

Paella with shrimp will add to your arsenal of tasty and low-calorie food that can not only satisfy your hunger, but also add variety to your daily diet. Financially affordable products, proper cooking techniques and a desire to learn European cooking will help you create a Spanish masterpiece in half an hour and provide a hearty hot lunch for four.

Ingredients:

• shrimp - 450 g;
• rice - 250 g;
• green peas - 150 g;
• bell pepper - 1 pc.;
• tomato puree - 70 g;
• turmeric - 1 teaspoon;
• clove of garlic - 3 pcs.;
• olives - a handful;
• water - 600 ml;
• vegetable oil -50 ml.

Preparation

1. Simmer the chopped garlic in a frying pan and combine with rice.
2. Pour in water, puree, season, and keep in the pan for about a quarter of an hour.
3. Add vegetables and peeled shrimp.
4. The readiness of paella according to the classic recipe is determined by the complete evaporation of the liquid; garnish with olives.

Paella with mussels is a special dish, requiring special ingredients that will not only provide the flavor range, but also imbue the shell meat with spicy aromas. In this case, paella spices in the form of saffron, hot chili pepper and red paprika are an indispensable set. A handful of fresh dill and lemon slices will complete the composition of seafood.

Ingredients:

• mussels - 200 g;
• arborio - 200 g;
• tomato - 1 pc.;
• clove of garlic - 3 pcs.;
• green peas - 100 g;
• fresh dill - a handful;
• lemon - 1/2 pcs.;
• chili pepper - 1/4 pcs.;
• olive oil - 40 ml;
• paprika - 1 teaspoon;
• saffron threads - 3 pcs.;
• broth - 200 ml.

Preparation

1. Blanch the tomato, peel, chop and fry with chopped garlic.
2. Add rice, season and pour in broth without stirring.
3. Cover the dish with foil and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
4. Place the mussels and peas and keep on the fire until the liquid is completely absorbed.
5. Paella - a classic recipe with mussels is served after a 10-minute rest.

Paella with vegetables is an independent dish that does not require any meat or fish components. This gastronomic feature attracts not only fasters, but also people who adhere to it. To prevent healthy food from turning into porridge, you need to strictly monitor the proportions of vegetables and liquid.

Ingredients:

• rice - 300 g;
• red and green peppers - 2 pcs.;
• clove of garlic - 3 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• zucchini - 1 pc.;
• saffron threads - 5 pcs.;
• paprika - 1 teaspoon;
• olive oil - 50 ml;
• water - 300 ml.

Preparation

1. Fry the onion in a frying pan, add diced tomatoes, zucchini and pepper, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. Add rice, season it with spices, pour in liquid and stir.
3. Keep on the stove for no more than 20 minutes.

Cooking paella is a process in which there is always room for imagination. The beauty of the recipe is that you can add any components from simple to exclusive without changing the base. Fish harmonizes perfectly with rice and vegetables, and therefore paella at home will become an affordable and nutritious dish appropriate for lunch.

Did you know that it practically never rains in Valencia, Spain? That the generous, bright sun shines here almost all year round? Maybe that’s why locals consider colorful paella their symbol. This dish seems to reflect all the surrounding colors: scarlet tomatoes, green vegetables, pink octopuses, black shells with mussels and, of course, rice, which acquires a golden color due to saffron.

Mystery overgrown with myths

Now no one can say for sure where the name “paella” came from. According to one version, it comes from the Latin word “patella”, which means “frying pan” - because it is in this dish that the traditional Valencian dish is prepared. According to another, the name is a distorted “para ella”, that is, “for her”. Allegedly, Spanish paella was first prepared by a fisherman in anticipation of his beloved girl. However, some insist that the dish was originally eaten by the servants of the Moorish kings, and its name should be translated from Arabic as "leftovers."

Perhaps the adherents of the third version of the origin of the word “paella” are right in some ways. The classic recipe includes seemingly incompatible products- as if you urgently need to use everything that is lying around in the refrigerator. But, having tried this amazing dish at least once, everyone exclaims: “This is delicious!”

To prepare real Spanish paella you will need 6-7 types of fish, seafood, chicken, vegetables, rice, olive oil and saffron. In Spain, this dish is a good reason to gather the whole family at the dinner table on Sunday. And also March 19, when St. Joseph's Day is celebrated, cannot be done without it.

flickr.com/jexweber

Now, of course, the classic recipe has undergone many modifications, but the sunny Spanish flavor remains unchanged. This is probably why paella has become famous throughout the world.

Paellas with chicken, fish, cuttlefish, vegetarian...

Paella is the pride and symbol of Spanish cuisine. However, for many Russians, its composition is very similar to the usual pilaf or a dish with a more exotic name - risotto. In some ways these people are right. If you take away the national “eclecticism”, then paella will turn out to be an ordinary dish of rice, meat, fish and vegetables. On the other hand, isn’t it the exotic flavor that makes food especially tasty?

To prepare Spanish paella a special frying pan called paellera is used. Unlike risotto, it uses olive oil rather than butter. The Spaniards use a special type of rice - bahia, which should be crumbly, and the Italians boil arborio rice to a porridge state. The homeland of pilaf is Central Asia, so a lot of spices are added to it - for example, turmeric, and in addition to rice, the original recipe for this dish uses wheat, corn, peas and mung bean.

In total, there are about 300 varieties of paella in Spain, and recipes may vary depending on the region.

It is prepared with meat, fish, mussels, squid, mushrooms and vegetables in various combinations. The Valencian version is made from rice, green vegetables, meat, snails and beans. Beans and vegetables are often omitted from seafood recipes. An interesting variety of dish - “Black Rice”. It received this name due to the addition of cuttlefish, which produces black ink.

flickr.com/maurizio-sorvillo

There are also vegetarian recipes. The required ingredients are always rice, saffron, tomatoes and olive oil.

Paella has long gone beyond Spain and spread throughout the world. The Mexicans loved it very much, changing the classic recipe to suit themselves. They make the dish traditionally spicy using onions, garlic and chili peppers. In Russia, due to the lower availability of fresh seafood, paella with chicken is more often prepared.

Delicious homemade paella

Residents of sunny Valencia, of course, are sure that only in their homeland can they taste real paella. But if you do not have the opportunity to travel to this city, you can prepare the dish at home. In Russian realities, fresh seafood can be easily replaced with frozen ones, and if you don’t have paellera, you can replace it with a regular frying pan with thick walls or even a slow cooker. This will not spoil the taste of the dish. Serve paella directly in the pan, seasoned with grated cheese.

Recipe No. 1 - paella with seafood

This is a recipe for classic paella, which is prepared in Valencia. The Spaniards often add it to it, but since it is now difficult to get in Russia, you can do without it.

Required ingredients:

• 0.6 kg rice;
• 3 tomatoes;
• a quarter glass of olive oil;
• 0.5 kg shrimp;
• 0.6 kg mussels;
• 0.3 kg squid;
• a can of canned peas;
• 2 peppers of different colors;
• 1 onion;
• 1 tsp. saffron;
• parsley;
• salt;
• pepper.

flickr.com/slmatthews

How to cook:
Boil the shrimp with salt, cook the mussels separately until the shells open. Mix the broths, add saffron. Pour oil into a heated frying pan, add onion, fry over low heat, add tomatoes and squid. Then add rice and fry for 5-10 minutes. Add broth, simmer for 20 minutes, do not stir.
5 minutes before it’s ready, add shrimp to the frying pan, add peppers, mussels and peas. Cover with foil and let sit for 5 minutes.

Recipe No. 2 - paella with chicken

Paella with chicken does not require exotic ingredients - just white rice, chicken, some vegetables and pepper. You can cook it in a slow cooker.

Required ingredients:

• 200 g rice;
• 4 chicken legs;
• 3 tomatoes;
• 2 bell peppers;
• 3 garlic cloves;
• bulb;
• 4 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 2 tsp. ground paprika;
• salt.

flickr.com/ultrakml

How to cook:
Fry chicken legs in oil with onions, add rice and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring. Then transfer the mixture to the multicooker, setting it to the “pilaf” mode. Pour in 0.5 l. water, salt and pepper.
While the rice is cooking, fry a little more onion until golden brown, add pepper, tomatoes, saffron. Simmer for 5 minutes, add garlic. Pour everything into the cooked rice.

Where to eat paella in Spain and Moscow?

Of course, for real paella you should go to Valencia, Spain. According to reviews, 2 restaurants are definitely worth visiting - El Raco de Paella and Casa Navarro.

El Raco de Paella - an establishment entirely dedicated to paella, and they cook it here on wood, so you have to wait at least 40 minutes for your order. The average cost of paella is about 20 euros, depending on the variety.

The highlight of Casa Navarro is the location of the restaurant right on Patacona Beach. Tourists and locals prefer to gather here in large groups and have fun. The establishment is famous for its paella with peeled seafood. The average cost of a dish is 25 euros.

There are also many places in tourist Barcelona where you can enjoy paella. For example, beach restaurant Can Majo with a cozy home interior. The owner of the establishment claims that he personally selects all the products for the kitchen. The price of paella here starts from 14 euros.

7 Portes Restaurant is renowned for the excellence of its local chefs, due to which he became very popular. By the way, Lorca and Picasso dined here at one time. The price of vegetable paella is 18 euros, a dish with meat or seafood will cost 20-22 euros.

flickr.com/carlos_lorenzo/

You can also taste Spanish paella in Moscow restaurants. For example, An interesting establishment has opened on Pushkinskaya Embankment - Paella House. There is green grass growing on the roof, as well as palm trees and sun loungers. The main course is paella with seafood, its price is 700 rubles.

All lovers of Spain will be interested in visiting Lizarran. This is a worldwide chain of Spanish and Basque restaurants. The establishments pay special attention to the freshness and naturalness of products. The cost of paella for two is 690 rubles. for vegetable, 860 rub. - for Valencian and 920 rubles. - for a seafood dish.

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than for yourself))

7 Mar 2017

Content

Paella is one of the most popular dishes in Spanish cuisine. There are more than 300 varieties of it. The treat is traditionally prepared from rice with the addition of saffron, olive oil and other ingredients. Many people think that seafood paella is a very difficult dish for beginners, but this is not so.

How to cook paella at home

Cooking paella takes about an hour, taking into account the preparation of ingredients, so it cannot be called a quick dish. But it’s perfect for lunch on a weekend. The list of ingredients may vary depending on the recipe, but the main ones will always include seafood, rice and aromatic saffron. Spanish chefs use a special frying pan called a paellera. It is a large, heavy metal bowl with a flat bottom and low sides. For home cooking, a regular cast iron frying pan with a flat bottom will do.

What kind of rice is needed for paella?

It is important to choose the right rice for paella so that the dish turns out really tasty. Ideal options would be Spanish round-grain varieties of this crop, such as bomba or arborio, but not everyone has access to them. As an alternative, you can use any other round rice, except for basmati and jasmine varieties - they do not absorb moisture well and are not suitable for aromatic Spanish dishes. Cooks generally do not recommend adding long rice to paella.

Paella with seafood - recipe with photos

For the first time, it is better to choose a recipe for paella with seafood that is as close as possible to the classic one. The dish is prepared by analogy with Uzbek pilaf: first, vegetables are sauteed, fish and other seafood are fried, rice is added and everything is simmered over low heat. It is important to follow the recommendations for the duration of processing of ingredients: overcooked squids become tough and unpleasant to the taste, and shrimp become tough. An essential component is saffron, which gives rice its characteristic golden color.

Classic Spanish seafood paella

• Cooking time: 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 8-12 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 238 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.

It’s hard to figure out which paella recipe is classic. According to legend, this Spanish pilaf contains not only seafood, but also meat, poultry and vegetables. However, the version with seafood is considered to be a classic paella. Residents of Valencia say that you will never, under any circumstances, find a single onion in paella. Otherwise, some ingredients can be replaced, leaving the base of the dish unchanged.

Ingredients:

• squid – 300 g;
• shrimp, mussels, scallops – 300 g;
• tomatoes – 150 g;
• green peas – 100 g;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves;
• white wine – 100 g;
• Short grain rice – 1.5 tbsp.;
• saffron – 1 pinch.

Cooking method:

1. Peel the shrimp, mussels, scallops (do not throw away the shells, make broth from them).
2. Prepare broth from shells, garlic, spices. Pour these ingredients into 500 ml of water and cook for 20-25 minutes.
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of water over the saffron. Let it brew.
4. Fry the seafood cocktail in oil, add finely grated garlic.
5. Season with salt and pepper and add squid cut into half rings.
6. Cut the tomatoes into medium-sized cubes or grate them (remove the peel).
7. Lightly fry the seafood mixture, after 5-10 minutes add the tomatoes and peas.
8. Pour the rice into the pan, stir well and pour in the broth and white wine.
9. After 10-15 minutes, season with saffron and simmer until done.

Paella with seafood - recipe in a slow cooker

• Cooking time: 30-50 minutes.
• Calorie content of the dish: 198 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Italian.

Progress does not stand still; new miracles of technology are appearing in the kitchen. They help prepare tasty and healthy food, such as aromatic paella with seafood in a slow cooker. This traditional dish in Spain is usually served only for lunch. It is believed that a mixture of seafood and meat is very difficult to digest in the evening, and even more so before bed.

Ingredients:

• fresh bell pepper – 120 g;
• round rice – 300 g;
• sea ​​cocktail – 500 g;
• chicken fillet – 250 g;
• garlic – 3-4 cloves;
• saffron – 1 pinch;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• lemon – 60-70 g.

Cooking method:

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a multicooker bowl and fry seafood in it.
2. When a golden crust begins to appear on them, add chopped garlic and thinly sliced ​​pepper.
3. After 5-8 minutes, add finely chopped chicken fillet, saffron, and spices.
4. After another 10 minutes, add dry rice, mix everything well, pour in 1 glass of water or broth.
5. Turn on the multicooker to the “Pilaf” or “Rice” mode and simmer until done. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice before serving.

Paella with shrimp

• Number of servings: 4-6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 197 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

If you are not a big fan of sea life (mussels, squid), then the shrimp paella recipe will be an excellent alternative for you. This dish is no less tasty than the classic one; it can be varied with a large number of your favorite vegetables and meat additives. If desired, you can use fish or vegetable broth, which will add even more rich aroma and flavor to the rice.

Ingredients:

• bell pepper – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 3-4 cloves;
• saffron – 1 pinch;
• round rice – 300 g;
• peeled shrimp – 400 g;
• canned corn - to taste;
• broth - 1 l;
• parsley - to taste;
• white wine – 50 ml;
• tomatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
• salt, pepper, lemon juice - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Chop the sweet pepper into thin strips and chop the garlic into small pieces.
2. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and cut them into cubes.
3. Saute the peppers and garlic for 3-5 minutes, then add rice, saffron, and spices to them.
4. After 5-7 minutes, add tomatoes, water, shrimp, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low.
5. 5-10 minutes before cooking, pour white wine into the dish, add herbs and corn.

Paella recipe with seafood and chicken

• Cooking time: 30-45 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5-7 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 289 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

To cook rice with chicken and seafood, you don’t need any complicated manipulations. This treat is prepared similarly to the usual pilaf, with the only difference being that seafood and chicken fillet are used instead of lamb. Otherwise, the process is very similar, so even a culinary novice can prepare delicious paella. It is best to simmer it in a deep cauldron with thick walls, like pilaf.

Ingredients:

• round rice – 400 g;
• chicken fillet – 250 g;
• frozen sea cocktail – 400 g;
• sweet pepper – 1 pc.;
• tomatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
• garlic – 3-4 cloves;
• water or broth – 600-700 ml;
• saffron – ½ tsp;
• dry white wine – 50-70 ml;
• salt, allspice - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a cauldron.
2. Cut the fillet into cubes, fry with chopped garlic until golden brown.
3. Separately, fry the seafood until excess moisture has evaporated.
4. Cut the tomatoes and peppers into cubes, add to the chicken, fry for 7-9 minutes.
5. Pour dry rice into the pan, fry for 2-3 minutes, then add seafood.
6. Fill the paella with broth, add spices and white wine.
7. After the rice boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender without stirring.
8. Stir before serving.

Paella with seafood from Yulia Vysotskaya

• Cooking time: 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 3-4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 179 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

We present to you a recipe for paella with seafood from Yulia Vysotskaya. She shares how to prepare a treat quickly, and at the same time make it tasty and healthy. This recipe will especially appeal to those who are watching their figure - it can be classified as low-calorie due to the large number of vegetables. You can add your own favorite ingredients to customize your paella.

Ingredients:

• shrimp – 15 pcs.;
• celery (stems) – ¼ piece;
• rice – 100 g;
• carrots – 100 g;
• bell pepper – 100 g;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves;
• salt, peppercorns - to taste;
• tomato paste – 30-40 g;
• lemon juice - for sprinkling.

Cooking method:

1. Boil the shrimp in salted water tinted with saffron, do not drain the broth.
2. Chop the vegetables into cubes and fry in a small amount of oil or water.
3. Add rice, spices, tomato paste, and shrimp broth.
4. Mix well, simmer over low heat until cooked.
5. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Sea cocktail paella

• Cooking time: 45-55 minutes.
• Number of servings: 2-3 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 239 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Paella with sea cocktail is prepared similarly to the classic recipe, but to prepare it you do not need to buy seafood separately - you can use the available mixture. This is a good alternative for quickly preparing a hearty dinner after a hard day at work. You should first defrost the seafood mixture and heat it a little in a thick-walled frying pan to evaporate excess moisture.

Ingredients:

• rice for paella – 130 g;
• sweet pepper – ½ piece;
• dried garlic – ½ tsp;
• vegetable broth – 400 ml;
• saffron – ½ tsp;
• sea ​​cocktail – 200 g;
• parsley - to taste

Cooking method:

1. Prepare broth from any vegetables with spices.
2. Chop the pepper into thin strips.
3. Fry seafood with garlic until golden brown.
4. Add saffron and salt to taste.
5. Pour in the rice, mix well, pour in the broth.
6. Simmer under a closed lid until cooked, garnish with parsley.

Paella with seafood - a simple recipe

• Cooking time: 40-45 minutes.
• Number of servings: 3-5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 236 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

If you haven’t cooked Spanish cuisine before, then a simple paella with seafood is a great option to try your hand at. All ingredients are available at any major store or supermarket. It is best to choose chilled, low-fat fish. Pollock, lemonema or peled are suitable, but if you wish, you can take any other type of fish that you like.

Ingredients:

• rice – 1.5 cups;
• shrimp – 300 g;
• fish – 300 g;
• canned peas – 200 g;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• broth - 3 cups;
• salt, pepper, saffron - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Peel the shrimp and boil in broth with spices.
2. Fry garlic with finely chopped fish.
3. Add shrimp, rice, peas.
4. Mix well, pour in shrimp broth.
5. Simmer until the broth has completely evaporated.

Paella with fish and seafood

• Cooking time: 45-55 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 218 kcal.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Delicious paella with seafood and fish is easy and quick to prepare and has a delicate aroma. In addition, this is a healthy cocktail that contains proteins, iodine, minerals and omega-3 acids necessary for health. This treat is especially useful for women and people on a diet. It is recommended to consume seafood at least once a week to maintain the shine and strength of hair, nails and skin.

Ingredients:

• frozen seafood cocktail – 250 g;
• fish fillet – 250 g;
• green beans – 200 g;
• sweet pepper – 100 g;
• tomatoes or tomato paste – 100 g;
• dried garlic – 1 tsp;
• round rice - 3 cups;
• broth - 6 glasses;
• salt, paprika, saffron - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Fry seafood and fish for 2-3 minutes. Place the mixture in a separate bowl.
2. In the liquid that remains after cooking the fish, simmer the vegetables, chopped as you like. Add tomatoes or tomato paste and spices.
3. Pour in the rice, add 1 cup of broth, stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Gradually add broth until the rice is completely cooked.
5. Grind the herbs and garlic in a blender. Add some broth to make a sauce.
6. Pour the sauce over the finished paella. Serve to the table.

Black paella with seafood

• Cooking time: 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 5-8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 325 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: for lunch.
• Cuisine: Spanish.
• Difficulty of preparation: difficult.

How to cook black rice with cuttlefish ink? At first glance, this recipe may seem strange and inedible, but it is not so. Cuttlefish ink has a wide range of uses: it is used in medicine, used to make paint, and also added to dishes as a natural coloring. A distinctive feature of this substance is its specific salty marine taste.

Ingredients:

• Bomba rice – 180 g;
• king prawns – 4 pcs.;
• almejas (molluscs) – 4 pcs.;
• gambones – 4 pcs.;
• langoustine – 4 pcs.;
• canned peas – 20-50 g;
• cuttlefish – 100 g;
• cuttlefish ink – 5 g;
• dried garlic – 1 tsp;
• squid – 120-150 g;
• fish broth – 700-750 ml;
• saffron, spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Heat olive oil, add dried garlic.
2. Fry almejas with langoustine and gambones in it.
3. Add finely chopped cuttlefish and squid, fry for 30 seconds and remove from heat.
4. In another pan, fry the shrimp.
5. Place the seafood mixture back on the stove, fill it with broth, and add cuttlefish ink.
6. As soon as the mixture boils, pour the rice into it and bring to a boil.
7. After 15-17 minutes, add herbs, spices, and peas.
8. Garnish with shrimp before serving.

Spices for paella

Correctly selected spices for seafood paella will add a unique flavor to your dish. But you need to choose them very carefully, because not all seasonings are suitable for paella. You can buy a ready-made set of spices, but as practice shows, their composition is also different, so you need to choose correctly. The main thing is to achieve the ideal balance of aromas and tastes, then your culinary masterpiece will be appreciated.

The following spices and herbs are suitable for paella:

• saffron (crushed or stigmas);
• anise;
• cardamom;
• carnation;
• Bell pepper;
• turmeric;
• curry;
• tarragon;
• Chile.

Depending on your taste preferences, you can combine different herbs and spices until you find the perfect blend. The only constant ingredient is saffron. It gives the same aroma and taste that is so praised and appreciated by lovers of Spanish cuisine. You should be careful with curry and anise - they have a very strong, specific aroma that can overpower the taste of paella.

Video: Spanish paella

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Let's take paella for example. The demand for this dish is due to the large number of variations in ingredients that are adapted to different regions of Spain. Therefore, there are a large number of recipes for this delicacy. Spanish chefs say there are more than three hundred of them.

Spanish paella, the recipe for which we will definitely look at today, is traditionally served on Sunday. It may include seafood, chicken, beans, herbs and spices. can be found in almost all restaurants in the world. There are many ways to prepare this delicacy: from a traditional recipe to a fantastic variation that claims to be a culinary masterpiece.

National Spanish dish

Paella is a dish made from white rice with olive oil and saffron. Meat, chicken, various vegetables, seafood, etc. are also placed here. The quality of the dish is determined by the fact that all the ingredients have time to cook at the same time, so the rice remains crumbly. Traditionally, paella is cooked over an open fire. Let's look at several recipes for its preparation.

Paella with chicken

Ingredients:

• one chicken;
• five tablespoons of olive oil;
• five hundred grams of squid rings;
• six hundred grams of mussels;
• two onions;
• five hundred grams of rice;
• five hundred grams of meat broth;
• one bitter and one sweet pepper;
• one clove of garlic;
• ten black olives;
• two hundred grams of green peas;
• two pinches of saffron.

Preparation:

Spanish paella, the recipe for which we are now considering, is prepared as follows. First, the chicken is cut into twelve parts, salted and peppered, and fried in olive oil. Then the pieces are taken out and placed in a warm place. Fry in the remaining fat and also place in a warm place. Boil the mussels for five minutes in a small amount of water. Sweet peppers are cut into cubes and stewed together with chopped onions in the same fat. Rice is also fried in it, broth and saffron are added, and mixed well. Then add peas, olives and other ingredients, salt and pepper, simmer for half an hour, periodically adding liquid. Paella is a very tasty and filling dish that is served right in the pan.

Traditional paella

Ingredients:

• thirty grams of olive oil;
• four hundred and fifty grams of chicken fillet;
• two hundred and fifty grams of pork shoulder;
• one hundred grams of onion;
• three feathers of garlic;
• eighty grams of sweet red pepper;
• five grams of paprika;
• four hundred grams of tomatoes;
• five grams of saffron;
• one liter of chicken broth;
• four hundred grams of squid meat;
• one hundred seventy-five grams of green beans;
• one hundred twenty-five grams of fresh peas;
• one kilogram two hundred grams of peeled shrimp;
• six hundred grams of lemon.

Cooking a Spanish dish

Spanish paella is quite simple to prepare. To do this, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the seasoned meat (chicken and pork) in it for two minutes. Then add onion, paprika and garlic, simmer for three minutes, stirring constantly. Then add tomatoes and sweet peppers, cut into cubes. Next, add rice and cook for two minutes, add broth with saffron diluted in it, squid, bring to a boil and cook for twenty minutes under a closed lid. After time has passed, add peas and beans to the mixture, place shrimp and mussels on top, sprinkle with black pepper, and cook for ten minutes. During this time, the mussels should open.

Paella with shrimp, the recipe for which we reviewed, is served directly in the pan along with lemon halves. Chicken and pork can be replaced with fish such as monkfish or hake. In this case, it is placed after the squid. It is good to cook this dish over an open fire.

Paella with seafood

Ingredients:

• five hundred grams of seafood cocktail;
• half a spoon of saffron;
• forty grams of olive oil;
• one onion;
• three hundred grams of Valencia rice;
• one spoon of salt;
• two hundred grams of tomato puree;
• one hundred grams of frozen green peas;
• half a sweet pepper;
• one fourth of a lemon.

Preparation:

Spanish paella is prepared very simply and quickly. To do this, frozen seafood is defrosted and excess liquid is drained. Pour boiling water over the saffron and leave for fifteen minutes to infuse. Seafood is fried in oil for three minutes over high heat, removed and set aside for a while. Fry chopped onion in this oil until golden brown, add rice and fry for two minutes (during this time it will become transparent). Then add water with saffron diluted in it so that it covers the cereal.

Valencia rice is best suited for paella; the dish will then be aromatic and appetizing. The mixture is salted and kept on the fire until cooked for about twenty minutes, without stirring. Then add the tomato pulp, and ten minutes later add peas and peppers, cut into cubes. When the rice is cooked and the water has boiled away, place seafood and lemon slices on top, cover with a lid and let it brew for five minutes. Paella with vegetables and seafood is eaten hot, and wine is served with the dish. Usually this delicacy is cooked over an open fire, but at home you can use a regular stove. The dish is prepared in a large cast iron frying pan and served in it.

recipe

A multicooker makes it possible to prepare a Mediterranean dish without much hassle, which will refresh any holiday table and diversify the daily menu.

Ingredients:

• two glasses of Jasmine rice;
• five hundred grams of salmon fillet;
• two tomatoes;
• two onions;
• one sweet pepper;
• four hundred grams of water;
• one hundred grams of olive oil;
• garlic;
• salt and saffron to taste.

Preparation:

Paella is a Spanish dish, but every housewife can prepare it without much hassle, especially if she has a slow cooker in her arsenal. So, first, the rice is washed and placed in the multicooker bowl. Onions, salmon and tomatoes are finely chopped, and bell peppers are cut coarsely. Place the rice on top in layers: onions, tomatoes, then peppers and only then salmon. Garlic is placed in the center of the mixture, the “Pilaf” mode is turned on and cooked. After time has passed, the garlic is removed and the “Heating” mode is turned on.

The paella in the slow cooker is almost ready. Its recipe is quite simple. The finished dish is served with lemon slices and fresh herbs.

Paella with meatballs

Ingredients:

• four hundred grams of rice;
• five hundred grams of rabbit;
• five hundred grams of chicken;
• two hundred and fifty grams of green beans;
• one hundred grams of white beans;
• sixteen snails;
• one tomato;
• three cloves of garlic;
• one hundred grams of olive oil;
• rosemary, saffron and salt to taste;
• two liters of water.

For meatballs: three hundred grams of minced meat, fifty grams of pork fat, three hundred grams of white bread pulp, two cloves of garlic, three eggs, as well as pine nuts, chopped parsley, salt and spices.

Preparation:

Paella is a dish that is quite easy to prepare. It is necessary to heat the fat in a frying pan, on which the minced meat is then fried. After five minutes, add bread, eggs, salt and spices, parsley, nuts and garlic. Mix everything well and form small meatballs from this mass. They are fried for several minutes on all sides. Then the rabbit pieces are fried in the same fat as the minced meat. The finished meat is pushed to the edges of the pan, and vegetables are placed in the center and fried. Next, add water and bring it to a boil, after which add the meatballs and cook for twenty minutes. Paella is a dish that contains seafood. But in our case they are replaced by snails. Therefore, after time, snails, saffron and paprika are added, salted to taste and rice is poured. Cook the food for twenty minutes on high heat, and then another five minutes on low.

Paella with fish and seafood

Ingredients:

• one kilogram of fish (pike perch or cod);
• one onion;
• two hundred grams of mussels in shells;
• one large shrimp;
• three hundred grams of sea cocktail;
• two hundred grams of small shrimp;
• two tomatoes;
• one glass of Bomba rice;
• half a spoon;
• one packet of paella spices.

Preparation:

Paella with shrimp, the recipe for which we will now look at, is prepared very quickly. You need to cut the fish, add water and bring to a boil, then add onions, spices and cook until tender. The finished broth is filtered. Pour oil into a frying pan, lay out the mussels and heat them, and then transfer them to a dish. All the shrimp are fried and placed on a plate. Fry tomatoes in the same oil for several minutes, add rice, paprika and stir. Then pour in two glasses of broth, add paella spices and stir. All this is simmered until cooked, adding mussels, shrimp and seafood at the end.

A few final words

In this Spanish dish, seafood goes well with rice. Thus, Italian risotto, Spanish paella and Creole jambalaya, as well as simple pilaf, are dishes with the same ideology. Therefore, here rice is always cooked separately, often together with vegetables and spices, and only at the end are previously fried seafood added. The cereal is cooked in a small amount of water or broth. In paella and jambalaya you can find not only vegetables, but also caviar and fish. But cuttlefish ink is often added to risotto, giving the dish an extraordinary color and a slight “marine” taste.

Thursday is traditional Spanish paella day. When a Spaniard eats this dish, he feels unity with the whole country, with all the Spaniards from all corners of his homeland. Paella is a dish that is beyond politics, religion, government policy and party affiliation, but it all started this way.

The legend of the creation of paella

There was a small fishing town on the shore, and it just so happened that a noble and important gentleman came to this town. The hospitable residents were alarmed; the guest had to be treated to something, but with what? The inhabitants of the town lived modestly and not richly. Each individual did not have the opportunity to feed the guest, then they decided to treat the important gentleman with the whole world, so to speak, by pooling together. The town residents agreed that everyone would bring what they had at home. Someone brought fish and various seafood, housewives sacrificed some chicken and some rabbit. The butcher shared the meat. All kinds of spices and olives were found in every family. The residents of the town prepared everything that was brought separately and only then added it to the rice, which formed the basis of the meal. It should not be surprising that the distinguished guest remained, very pleased with the imagination of the town residents and the prepared dish. This is one of the legends, but there is another.

Paella with seafood - photo

Ten kilometers south of Valencia there is a place that is considered the birthplace of Paella. Albufera is a coastal lake, which is separated from the sea by a narrow strip of washed-up sand. Once upon a time, back in the eighth century, the Arabs came to the Iberian Peninsula, they really liked the place, moreover, on the peninsula there were excellent conditions for growing rice, which was very popular among the Arabs. The local population also appreciated the rice, and they began to add everything that was at hand - seafood, all kinds of game, rabbit and chicken. Cooks know that rice perfectly absorbs the aromas of ingredients and perfectly combines their tastes. This is the second legend.

History of the name "Paella"

Regarding the name, there are also versions. They say that the name “Paella” comes from “Patella”, which is Latin for “frying pan”. It is quite possible because cooking really requires special utensils, but we will talk about this below. They also claim that the origin of the name should be sought in the Arabic word “baqiyah” - “remains”. That is, the famous dish was invented by ordinary servants who ate the leftovers after the magnificent feasts of their Muslim masters. Any leftovers were piled up and cooked with rice. Whether this is true or not is not known for certain, but it doesn’t matter.

But still, there is one version that is much more romantic and attractive than all the previous ones. This version is related to "para ella". Once upon a time there was a fisherman who loved a beautiful Spanish woman. One day, having made a date with her, he decided to prepare a romantic, aromatic dinner for her, of course, with wine (Spain is not Spain without wine). Para ella translates to “For her.” It’s beautiful, but perhaps we should insist on this version.

Paella recipes

There is simply no real paella recipe. Do you know why? So, if you ask a hundred Spaniards to tell you the recipe for this dish, you will receive exactly a hundred recipes. And if you contact one hundred Valencians, you will receive three hundred recipes. Each Valencian will tell his personal recipe, then the recipe of his beloved wife and another of his beloved grandmother. If you are interested in Spanish news, you will periodically come across an article that another chef has patented the very, only and correct paella. The next day there will be such a fuss in the press that it will make your head spin. Every self-respecting chef refutes the patented paella recipe in every possible way. Critics are tearing each other apart, and housewives are sedately watching this whole “war”.

Basic rules for paella recipes

There are a lot of Paella recipes, but there are rules that every cook and every housewife follows, we will list them.

First rule, in order to prepare the dish, you need a special frying pan, which bears the same name “paella”. It can be cast iron, aluminum or steel. This frying pan is not only used for cooking, it is also used for serving the dish to the table. The walls of the pan should be thick, the pan should be wide and shallow. The depth of the frying pan is calculated in such a way that the layer of rice is 1.5-2 cm. Readers have already understood that the liquid evaporates from such a frying pan evenly, which is optimal for preparing paella. A standard frying pan is suitable for cooking, the diameter of which ranges from 20 to 90 cm. Each diameter is designed for a certain number of eaters. Spanish women have several such frying pans, so you can’t say anything about it.

Second rule, open fire. Yes, yes, paella is best cooked over an open fire. Well, at the dacha you can afford this, but at home you need a burner with a large burner, wide. And finally, the third rule is rice. Only certain varieties of rice are used for the dish: Bomba, Bahia or Senia. These varieties of rice grow in Valencia, which is why Valencians are convinced that only they prepare real and most correct paella, and everything that is prepared in other places is just that, a pathetic fake and has nothing to do with paella. Why are these rice varieties used? Because it should perfectly absorb the aromas of all components, be crumbly and in no case stick together, much less boil over - this is important.

The most difficult part of cooking is the moment when the rice has already absorbed all the flavors. This moment still needs to be captured, and in this matter everything is important, the thickness of the rice laid out, the dishes, the temperature, and, of course, the cook’s intuition.

If your intuition doesn’t let you down, then the paella will turn out great, you won’t just miss the air of Spain, the speech of the Spaniards and the air of this beautiful country. Everyone decides for themselves how and what kind of paella to cook, just don’t count on the package from the store with the inscription “Spanish paella” having anything to do with the Spanish dish. A real Spanish dish can be easily prepared in your own kitchen; all you need is three things: desire, patience and time, but Spanish women somehow manage it.

Spanish paella on Thursdays

Why is paella eaten on Thursdays? The Spaniards also have several versions on this matter. Some argue that Francisco Franco, the famous dictator, loved two things: paella and gatherings in a cozy restaurant, incognito, of course. So they prepared this dish on Thursdays in all restaurants, incognito. Another version says that fishermen went to sea on Mondays, which means that restaurants purchased seafood on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means that a dish of fresh seafood was served on Thursday. The latest version is exactly the opposite. Purchases in restaurants took place on Fridays, which means that on Thursday it was necessary to dispose of all the leftovers. Why not?

Paella with chicken, rabbit and duck

Now, let's move on to the three most common recipes, so beloved by the Spaniards. The first recipe is “Paella with rabbit, chicken and duck.” We will cook for 8-10 eaters (a good dish for a family celebration with invited guests).

Here's what we need:

• legs and back of one rabbit;
• two duck wings and two duck legs;
• two chicken wings and two chicken legs;
• olive oil (40 ml);
• one tomato, large;
• of course, rice – 600 gr.;
• green beans, flat, green – 350 gr.;
• white beans, canned, large – 200 gr.;
• water – 2.7 l.;
• saffron, several threads;
• salt and a sprig of rosemary.

Well, let's start cooking, we hope it will work out. It’s okay, the eyes are afraid, but the hands do it.

The tomato must be grated on a coarse grater, discard the skin, it will not be needed. Next, cut all the cooked meat into equal pieces. We break our green beans into small pieces.

Next, all the chopped meat needs to be fried in a frying pan over high heat until a golden brown crust appears. Add green beans to the meat and continue frying for an additional five minutes, remembering to stir constantly.

The third step in preparing Spanish paella, pour the resulting tomato puree into the frying pan, stirring and removing any stuck meat from the bottom of the frying pan. Next, add water and cook the beans and meat until half cooked. Next you need to add saffron, which was previously brewed in a small amount of boiling water. Throw rosemary (a sprig) into the pan and add salt. We continue to cook the broth for some more time, while the rosemary needs to be periodically transferred from place to place. This is necessary so that the broth absorbs the aroma of rosemary.

Next, you need to throw away the rosemary, put the canned beans in the frying pan and scatter the cooked rice in an even layer over the entire surface of the frying pan. The most important and most important rule is that the RICE IS NOT PRE-SOAKED OR WASHED - this applies to any paella recipe.

Spanish paella with chicken - ready-made dish

There is only one thing left to do, wait for our dish to be cooked. There is no need to stir the rice. The excess water should evaporate on its own, and the rest should be absorbed into the rice. The main thing is that the rice does not boil over and does not turn out tough. All that remains is to decorate the dish with lemon, herbs and serve.

Spanish paella with chicken - portions

Video recipe for chicken paella

The video explains what is needed to prepare Paella for 8 people, and the entire cooking process.

Recipe - Paella with lobster

The second recipe is “Paella with lobster”. We will cook for four. First, let's prepare what we will need for this recipe:

• of course, rice (160 gr.);
• you will also need lobster - 1;
• prepare shrimp (100 gr.);
• also cuttlefish (what to do - 80 gr.);
• you will need garlic (1 clove);
• broth (700 ml.);
• olive oil (15 ml.);
• parsley, just a little (20 gr.);
• sweet paprika, required (1.5 tbsp);
• and lastly, saffron (several threads) and salt.

The broth is very important for paella., therefore, if you have the desire and enthusiasm, we will prepare the broth. If you don’t want to bother with all the good stuff described below, take regular vegetable or chicken broth.

Preparing the broth

So, broth. We need a thick pan, in it we need to fry 15 grams of olive oil. parsley and 15 gr. chopped garlic. Then add 30 gr. nuts (can be replaced with hazelnuts or almonds), shrimp heads 400 gr., and fish bones and heads - 0.5 kg.

Paella with lobster - preparing the broth

It doesn’t sound or look very appetizing, but don’t forget, this is only broth, we won’t eat all these heads. Everything we added needs to be fried and then poured with 2.5 - 3 liters of water. All this needs to be cooked for half an hour over medium heat. Then grind everything with a blender and strain.

Then the fun begins, we will cook the lobster. We stick a knife into the head of the lobster at a right angle and cut the lobster lengthwise. One half of a lobster is enough for four eaters, but if there is room in the frying pan, we will cook the whole thing. Take 0.5 l. Hot water and brew saffron. We take olive oil, heat and brown the crushed garlic, and then throw it away without pity. Now you need to increase the heat and fry cuttlefish, shrimp and lobster in garlic olive oil for thirty seconds.

Cooking rice

Now you need to add paprika and continue cooking the rice, stirring it over medium heat. When the rice spreads evenly across the bottom of the frying pan, return the seafood (those same bastards) to the frying pan. That's it, reduce the heat, add salt and add the remaining parsley.

Recipe for vegetarian paella with mushrooms

Vegetarian paella with mushrooms - necessary ingredients

The third recipe is “Vegetarian Paella”. For 4 persons. As always, we prepare the ingredients we need:

• as always, rice is the main thing, 160 gr.;
• you will need some cauliflower cabbage, 100 grams in total;
• Let's prepare red pepper, bell pepper of course, also a little, 100 gr.;
• mushrooms - champignons, others may be suitable, but champignons are better (50 g);
• ordinary green onions (30 gr.);
• 1 tomato;
• garlic is a must, we have it everywhere (1 zbch.);
• broth, of course vegetable (700 gr.);
• olive oil, as always, you can’t go anywhere without it (15 ml);
• and again, saffron (several threads) and salt.

First, we need to brew the prepared saffron in 100 ml of hot broth or water. The green onion will have to be chopped, but the cabbage, champignons, tomatoes and peppers will have to be cut into large pieces. Crush a clove of garlic and fry it in olive oil and throw it to hell. Put the cabbage in the frying pan, then after 5 or 7 minutes the pepper, then after 3-4 minutes add the onion, as well as mushrooms and tomatoes.

Pour all this assorted vegetables with “saffron water” or broth, bring the whole mixture to a boil and continue to cook, briefly, 10 minutes. And then we add salt. Now the last and most important thing, add the rice and boil a little, then reduce the heat and leave it in this form, without stirring. Paella is ready when the rice has absorbed all the broth.

Did you know that:

The Spaniards once cooked paella in a frying pan, the area of ​​which was 400 sq.m. Stir the paella using a tap. It took six tons of rice and 12.5 tons of meat to prepare. The dish was enough to feed 100 thousand people.

Video: Spanish Paella

Spanish dish recipe from the chef.

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