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    Rice · Recipe · Albufera, Valencia · Reference page

    Paella valenciana

    Paella valenciana

    Rice cooked dry in a wide, shallow pan with chicken, rabbit, flat green beans, garrofó beans, tomato, paprika and saffron. The recipe here is the basic version for four published by the Valencian regional tourism agency; the dish was declared an intangible cultural asset of the Valencian Community in 2021.

    Fine-ink and watercolour illustration of paella valenciana on white.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    15 min
    Cooking
    1 h
    Resting
    5 min
    Total
    1 h 20
    Difficulty
    Moderate

    Equipment

    • Paella pan 42–55 cm across
    • A burner, gas ring or wood fire wide enough to heat the whole base
    • Box grater for the tomatoes
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    • Meat and vegetables

    • Broth and rice

    • Optional

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Set the paella pan over medium heat with the oil. Fry the chicken and rabbit until well sealed on all sides.

      Why Browning the meat in the pan builds the flavour of the broth that the rice will absorb.

    2. Add the green beans and fry them. Lower the heat, add the paprika and stir for a few seconds only, then add the grated tomato and fry it well.

      Why Paprika burns in seconds and turns bitter; the tomato stops it.

    3. Pour in water equal to three times the volume of the rice. Note how high it comes in the pan, then add the rest of the water.

      Why The mark tells you when the broth has reduced to the right amount for the rice.

    4. Add the salt, the garrofó and, if using, the tavella, snails and saffron. Boil over medium heat until the broth has reduced to your mark (about 1.2 litres).

    5. Scatter the rice evenly across the pan. Boil over high heat for 5 minutes, then medium heat for 5 minutes, then very low heat for 5–8 minutes. Add the rosemary near the end if you like.

      Why The rice is not stirred once it is in: it cooks in a thin, even layer and the base can catch lightly.

      Timer · 18 min18:00

    6. Turn off the heat and leave the paella to rest 5 minutes before serving.

      Timer · 5 min5:00

    Substitutions

    • Garrofó → Large dried lima or butter beans, soaked and part-cooked.
    • Rabbit → More chicken; the flavour is lighter.

    Common mistakes

    • Stirring the rice after it goes in: it releases starch and the paella turns creamy instead of dry.
    • Too deep a layer of rice for the pan: the top stays hard while the bottom overcooks.

    Storage & reheating

    Eat at once. Leftovers keep 1 day in the fridge; cool them quickly.

    Safety

    Chicken and rabbit must be cooked through. If you add snails, they are molluscs, one of the 14 EU allergens; buy them prepared and purged.

    Allergens

    None

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Dietary

    gluten-free · dairy-free

    From the Albufera to a cultural asset

    Decree 176/2021 of the Generalitat Valenciana declared la paella valenciana, «el arte de unir y compartir» an intangible asset of cultural interest; it was published in Spain's official gazette on 15 March 2022. The decree places the dish's origins in the Albufera of Valencia, where it was cooked to feed farmers and market gardeners, and says that in the late 19th century it moved from farmhouses to the eating houses on the beaches of Malvarrosa, the Grau de Castelló and the Albufereta of Alicante.

    The decree also says the first written reference to paella, as arroz a la valenciana, appears in an 18th-century recipe manuscript that insists the rice must be dry. It does not define a single recipe. The quantities here come from the regional tourism agency's basic recipe.

    [1][2]

    Measuring by the pan

    The method measures the broth against the pan, not a jug. Water equal to three times the volume of the rice is poured in first and its level noted; then the rest of the water goes in and everything boils until the level drops back to that mark. Only then is the rice added.

    The rice then cooks undisturbed: 5 minutes on high heat, 5 on medium, 5 to 8 on very low, and 5 minutes' rest off the heat. A wide pan keeps the layer thin so every grain cooks in contact with the broth.

    [2]

    How it connects

    Place

    • origin Albufera, Valencia In preparation

    Rice

    Recipe

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