My Paella Adventure!
I’m always looking for some new recipes, and what better way to find one than looking in a cookbook I had sitting right on my shelf!
I was inspired by this great cookbook we bought after our trip to Spain:
Bravo to Penelope Casas for the great historical perspective on this “national” dish of Spain.
Using Penelope’s cookbook as my guide, it was time to make some Spanish Paella at home!
Who’s Hungry?
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish from Valencia. It is a rice dish that can have meat, fish, seafood, and vegetables and is characterized by its use of saffron to give it a yellow color and unique flavor.
Now, it’s time for me to make one at home!
It’s a two-part process…first, prep the ingredients like onion, garlic, bell pepper so they are ready to cook, then put together all of your proteins:
Yes, the centerpiece of this Paella is going to be these beautiful Langoustines…and thanks to the terrific food emporium Eataly here in Century City for supplying these gorgeous fellows…as well as fresh Clams, Mussels, Chicken Thighs and Chicken Chorizo!
First step is to pre-cook the Chicken thighs and Chicken Chorizo…note, that was all I had access to that day, but it tasted great!
And how do they look when cooking? Here you go!
It smelled as good as it sounded!
Once those items were pre-cooked, they were set aside…next up, pre-cook some of the seafood!
I chose to pre-cook my seafood…simmered in boiling, salted water for a few minutes – covered to steam them open…you can use that broth later if you want, but either way, most of my protein was precooked with one big exception…
Next up, time to cook the onions, garlic and bell pepper (just for Alex, this is a separate dish for me without the bell pepper – sorry,, not a fan).
I used the same pan I cooked the chicken and chorizo in, first giving it a splash of white wine to allow me to scrape the little tasty bits off the bottom, then I added my ingredients, including my Paprika and Saffron, and let it cook…
Don’t worry, the whole recipe with portions is at the end of this!
Now the fun stuff: add broth – I used Chicken Stock, put the chicken and chorizo back in and let it simmer away, bringing together all of the flavors…
As I mentioned, I made two different recipes: Alex got bell peppers plus I also used Cauliflower Rice for hers…it works well, but I went with the traditional rice, which was pre-cooked at added now, along with some fire-roasted tomatoes:
Now comes the fun part: putting the Clams and Mussels back into the pan, and top it all with those Langoustines!
Put a lid on and let the Langoustines steam in the mixture for 7=8 minutes, then take the lid off and let the liquid cook away…and it will sound like this:
Once you take the lid off and let it simmer, the rice absorbs the liquid and the final dish takes shape!
I plated the dish is a large shallow bowl and topped it with fresh parsley – which led me to this final presentation:
And it was a delicious success!
I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t going to get “in the weeds” with the portion information, choosing to leave it here along with some really terrific history of this incredible dish.
Back to the terrific Paella Cookbook bye Penelope Casas – here is the recipe I followed – loosely – to create our Paella at home – after she explains the importance of this dish to that Country:
Of course, nothing will ever match the real thing from Spain.
I was lucky enough to taste it on Spain’s “Wild Coast”:

Here’s a look at the incredible dish we got in Costa Brava, part of our adventure along Spain’s “Wild Coast!”
Click here for more:
If you get the chance to go to Costa Brava, make sure to take a day to ride a big through the three medieval villages!
They are close enough to bike to all three, and so we did!


Click here to see our entire route:
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Categories: Art, Books / Media, cookbooks, Exotic Travel, Food, food blog, Food Review, Memoirs, Recipes, Spain, Travel, Travel Adventures, Wacky Food
This looks spectacular! I love paella! The sauteed onion garlic and peppers look good enough to eat by themselves! Love the sizzling sound in the video… now if only we could invent a way to transfer smells! 🙂
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HA! One reason I love this dish is that you can make it any way you want…I actually did two side by side since my Wife didn’t want rice – I used cauliflower rice for hers! Thanks so much for commenting!
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When I was in college, I met a lovely young man who took me to his mom’s house, where she served some authentic Italian style paella! I had no idea what to expect, as I’d never heard of it before, but the way she fixed it, it turned out to taste a lot like a combo of Southern style grits and Gumbo, with extra stuff added, and it was delicious!
Thanx for this recipe, though I think I’ll stick with just the chicken version.
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Thanks for sharing that! What’s great is you can use seafood, meat, chicken or whatever you like!
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This looks delicious and perfect! I want you to cook for me every week, John. At least I have your recipes. 😀
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It was fun to do and I learn more every time I make one! Thanks for the comment, always great hearing from you!
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My pleasure, John!
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I want real paella – this looks amazing
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I was very happy with how it turned out…found out on a test run that the balance between Saffron and Parika is everything! thanks for commenting!
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ah, that makes perfect sense, they are each so pungent/fragrant
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This paella looks amazing, John. I’ve only ever had paella with seafood only so the introduction of chicken and sausage is a new idea for me.
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Makes for a fun blend Robbie!
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Looks wonderful!
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That looks a lot better than the ‘Tourist Paella’ you usually get served up in Spain. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Luckily, that was in the Costa Brava away from tourists and we were all the better for it!
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Brilliant just how I make my paella….the best way I am sure you enjoyed :)x
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It was so delicious…Langoustines aren’t common here but a store nearby has an incredible fish counter! Thanks for commenting Carol!
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My pleasure, John always a fabulous read over on your blog 😊x
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Thank you!
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I love paella and have mastered it since living here on the coast of Spain. Yours looks amazing. I’m sure you enjoyed it.
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Darlene, we are so eager for a return trip to Spain – we just saw the tip of a delicious culinary iceberg!
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