Spain's celebrated rice dish from the city of Valencia, cooked in a wide shallow pan with chicken, rabbit and green beans to achieve the signature crispy rice crust called socarrat.

خطوات التحضير

Heat the oil in a wide paella pan over medium-high heat.

Sear the chicken and rabbit pieces until golden on all sides.

Add the green beans and stir for a few minutes.

Add the grated tomato and paprika, cooking until excess moisture evaporates.

Spread the cooked white beans evenly across the pan.

Stir the saffron into the hot stock and pour it into the pan, adjusting salt.

Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes without stirring.

Scatter the rice evenly over the pan and stop stirring from this point on.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 18-20 minutes until the rice absorbs all the liquid.

Raise the heat slightly for the last two minutes to form the crispy socarrat crust on the bottom.

Remove from heat, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

نصيحة

Never stir the rice after adding it — that is the secret to the crispy crust. If Bomba rice is unavailable, use any short-grain, high-absorption rice as an acceptable substitute.

Paella is Spain's unofficial national dish, and it truly originates from the region of Valencia on the eastern coast, where rice farmers once cooked it outdoors over wood fires using whatever chicken, rabbit and local vegetables were on hand. The name «paella» comes from the wide, flat, two-handled pan it is cooked in.

Authentic Valencian paella differs from the seafood-laden coastal versions; it relies on local meats and vegetables such as flat green beans and large white beans. The secret to a great paella is never stirring the rice while it cooks, which allows a crispy bottom layer called the socarrat to form — the most prized part of the dish.