Paella Valenciana

Best Spanish Rice Recipe for Traditional Spanish Food

Paella Valenciana is a traditional Spanish food eaten by thousands of people in Spain for lunch. This amazing Spanish dish is normally prepared for family celebrations and Sunday lunches and is the most popular and best Spanish rice recipe.

450 grams/1lb scrubbed fresh mussels
450 grams/1lb chicken cut into small pieces
200grams/6ozs pork or rabbit cut into pieces
1 packet of small prawns (about 10-12 - optional)
2 large ripe tomatoes (boiled and skinned and chopped)
200grams/6ozs green beans cut into small 1" pieces (remove ends)
200grams/6ozs shelled broad beans (fava)
2 garlic cloves chopped (optional)
saffron (just a pinch)
teaspoon sweet paprika
salt
12ozs paella rice (Valenciana if possible!) or short grain white rice
8-10 tablespoons olive oil (1/2 to 3/4 cup) depending on taste
2-3 cups of boiling water

How to Prepare:
If you're cooking Paella Valenciana outside on a barbeque this is great as you will have lots of room for the paella pan. If cooking inside it's best to use two hot plates and keep turning to keep the heat distributed as evenly as possible throughout cooking.

• Heat olive oil in paella pan and brown chicken and pork/rabbit until golden.

• Add green beans, broad beans and fry for a few minutes.

• Add chopped tomatoes and garlic (optional) and cook for a further five minutes.

• The heat should be high and at this point you add the rice, saffron and boiling water and salt

• Stir and then arrange the prawns and mussels on top

• Cover and cook for about ten minutes then turn down and cook for a further 8-10 minutes.

Take the paella pan from the heat, cover with a cloth and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

If you don't have a paella pan then you can buy one very easily from the very popular Spanish (US) online store La Tienda.

Once you get used to cooking Paella Valenciana you'll fint it very easy and it really does taste as good as it looks.

Don't forget to serve the paella with wedges of fresh lemon, salad and crunchy bread. For drinks what better than a refreshing jug of ice-cold Spanish Sangria!

TIP! - Amongst the many Spanish desserts that really go well with a dish like this is Water Melon Fruit Mix or the delightfully decadent Turron of Spain (click on the photo below for more information!

Valencia Food Recipes

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