When I was a boy, my family would go to the mountains on weekends and my father would cook paella for family, friends, and anyone who happened to be nearby. When more people showed up, he would just throw another handful of rice in the pan. That’s the magic of paella: It can feed a crowd of many sizes very well.
Spending time outside with the people you love, a drink in hand, with some tapas and small bites. That’s how they do it in Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain where the dish was born, and how you can continue the tradition. You’ll need a pan—the dish itself is named after the wide, flat pan that farmers would take into the fields to cook one-pot meals using what was available to them. And a heat source: I know not everyone can build a wood-burning paella pit in their backyard (though maybe you’ll be inspired to!). You can also use your grill or even a gas stove, or invest in an outdoor burner with a tripod.
Invite your friends over, open a few bottles of wine (I’ve shared some of my favorites below), and put out some simple tapas to snack on while you tend the rice. I like to serve pan con tomate, the simple tomato-topped bread from Catalunya, a few cheeses, slices of jamón, marinated olives, tinned fish and chips, maybe a seafood salad like salpicón de marisco (find the recipe in my new cookbook, Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Spaniard, out now). A little something for everyone. Every paella you cook will be different. Add each ingredient to the pan and keep an eye on the flames. And if more friends show up unannounced, just throw in another handful of rice. There’s always room for more.
Choosing a pan
If you are cooking directly over fire, a traditional steel paellera is best. It’s more responsive to temperature changes in the flames, but requires more careful cleaning and drying. For gas rings or stoves, carbon steel or enameled works well, and is easier to maintain. To cook for four to six people, get a 15" pan. The large circumference allows the rice to cook through while a crispy socarrat forms on the bottom of the pan. Paella is an art, people: Listen to your ingredients, to your heat, to your pan, and you’ll get the best result.
Selecting your rice
Any rice you find that’s grown in Spain and labeled “paella rice” will work. It might be bomba, a short-grain rice that’s almost round (and widely available), or a handful of other varieties like Bahía or J. Sendra. (Don’t get the variety confused with the Protected Designation of Origin, the PDO, like Calasparra PDO, which simply means the rice comes from the municipality of Calasparra.) Paella rices expand to three times their size as they absorb the stock they’re cooking in, imbuing each grain with maximum flavor.
Water or stock?
Either one can deliver a great result. If you start with water, you’ll essentially be making your own stock in the pan as you cook. Stock—like the wood-fired ones made by El Paeller in Valencia—just gives you a head start on the process. Remember that your pan’s shape affects the cooking; the larger and flatter it is, the faster the liquid will evaporate.
What to pour
The most classic wine to serve with paella is bubbles. Spanish, of course! It’s not all cava—the world of Spanish sparkling wines has expanded over the last decade, so you will find incredible bottles that aren’t labeled as “cava,” like ones from the newer designation Corpinnat. Keep a special eye out for the wines of Raventós i Blanc, made by my friend Pepe Raventós. I will never say no to a glass of manzanilla sherry or Albariño while I’m cooking, and I’d love a Rioja or a Mencía from Bierzo, like the ones made by the legendary Raúl Pérez, with the meal. And it doesn’t hurt to have a porrón on hand for your guests to drink out of, to add some life to the party.
Make the paella
Watch chef José Andrés make this recipe, plus more tapas and desserts to complete the spread, at his backyard paella party featured in the latest episode of Made to Order.
