Paella

• 2 cupsbomba rice · or Calasparra, do not substitute long-grain or arborio
• 6 cupschicken stock · kept hot in a separate pan
• 1 large pinchsaffron threads · about 1/4 tsp, crumbled into the hot stock
• 1 1/4 lbboneless chicken thighs · cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 lblarge shrimp · shell on if you can get them
• 1 lbmussels · scrubbed, any that stay open discarded
• 1/4 cupextra-virgin olive oil
• 1 wholeonion · finely chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic · minced
• 2 wholeripe tomatoes · grated on a box grater, skins discarded
• 2 tspsweet paprika · pimenton dulce
• 6 ozflat green beans · cut into 2 inch lengths, or runner beans
• 1 wholeroasted red pepper · sliced into strips, piquillo if available
• 1 1/2 tspkosher salt · adjust to how salty your stock is
• 1 wholelemon · cut into wedges
• 1/4 cupflat-leaf parsley · chopped, to finish

Method

1. 1

   The pan decides the dish

   Paella needs a wide, shallow, thin pan so the rice sits in a layer no more than half an inch deep and every grain is in contact with heat. A proper paella pan is ideal; a fourteen-inch carbon steel or cast iron skillet is the workable substitute. What does not work is a Dutch oven or a deep saute pan, where the rice piles up, steams, and you get a risotto texture with no crust. If your only pan is small, make four servings rather than six.

2. 2

   Build the sofrito until it darkens, which takes longer than you think

   Onion in the olive oil over medium heat until genuinely soft, eight minutes, then garlic for one, then the grated tomato and the paprika. Now reduce the tomato until it goes from bright red and loose to brick-coloured and jammy and the oil separates out at the edges, another eight to ten minutes. That is the flavour base and there is no shortcut for it. Stopping at the point where it still looks like chopped tomato is the most common reason home paella tastes thin.

3. 3

   Saffron goes into the hot stock, not into the pan

   Saffron's flavour and colour compounds are water-soluble and need time and warmth to release. Crumble the threads between your fingers into the pan of hot stock and let them sit for at least ten minutes while you do everything else. Thrown in dry with the rice, they stay as red threads in a pale dish and you have wasted the most expensive ingredient in the recipe. Do not buy powdered saffron, which is frequently adulterated.

4. 4

   Measure the stock, three to one

   Bomba rice takes about three parts liquid to one part rice by volume, which is more than most rice because the grain is unusually absorbent while staying intact. Two cups of rice, six cups of hot stock. Measure it rather than adding by eye, because you get exactly one chance: too little and the rice is chalky, too much and there is no crust, and you cannot correct either one halfway through without stirring. Arborio takes less and turns creamy, which is the wrong texture here.

5. 5

   Brown the chicken, then spread the rice and stop touching it

   Season and brown the chicken pieces in the pan before the sofrito goes in, then set them aside and return them once the rice is spread. Stir the dry rice into the sofrito for one minute so every grain is coated, then pour in the hot saffron stock, add the beans and the salt, distribute everything evenly, and put the spoon in the sink. From this moment there is no stirring. Stirring releases starch and starch gives you creaminess, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.

6. 6

   Medium high for ten minutes, low for eight, and the shellfish goes on top

   Bring it to a strong simmer over medium-high for the first ten minutes, which sets the rice, then drop to low for eight more as the liquid falls below the surface. Push the shrimp and the mussels into the top layer at the eight-minutes-remaining mark, hinge-side down for the mussels so they open into the rice. Lay the roasted pepper strips over the top. The shellfish steams in the rising vapour, which is why it goes on late and on top rather than in.

7. 7

   The socarrat is done by ear and by smell

   When the surface liquid is gone and the rice is just tender, turn the heat up to medium-high for sixty to ninety seconds. Listen: you want a distinct crackle, like light rain on a window. Smell: toasted, nutty, and the second you catch anything acrid you are done, immediately. That is the socarrat, the caramelised crust on the bottom, and it is why paella is served straight from the pan and scraped up rather than plated from a serving spoon.

8. 8

   Ten minutes of rest under a towel

   Off the heat, cover the pan loosely with a clean tea towel and leave it alone for ten minutes. The grains at the top are still slightly firm and there is residual moisture in the pan that redistributes during the rest, which is the same principle as resting rice or resting meat. It also lets the crust firm rather than steaming soft under a tight lid, which is why a towel and not foil. Then lemon, parsley, and eat it out of the pan.

9. 9

   What is in the 540 calories, and what paella is not

   Rice and protein, mostly, with a quarter cup of olive oil across six servings doing the flavour work. There is no chorizo in this, and not because of the calories: cured pork paprika dominates saffron and turns the dish into something else. There are no peas, no yellow food colouring, and no cream. What you get is 38g of protein a serving from three different sources and a dish that costs less per head than most people assume.