Soak the saffron. This will release both color and aroma. Pop some saffron into a small bowl with hot water and set aside.
Sear the proteins. Heat up some olive oil in your paella pan over medium high heat and give your proteins a quick sear: the chicken goes in skin side down and the chorizo gets browned. Shrimp gets a quick toss in before being removed so it doesn’t over cook.
Sweat the aromatics. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, and paprika and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant.
Add the liquids. Carefully add chicken stock and the saffron water and bring everything to a boil. Flip the chicken skin side up so it’s pretty.
Add the rice. Time to sprinkle in the rice! Try to add it in a thin, even layer and use a spoon to spread it out if you need to. Let everything come to a simmer and cook, uncovered until the rice absorbs almost all the liquid.
Add the seafood. Nestle in the clams and add the shrimp back on top.
Cook on low until the clams open up and the rice is al denote.
Socarrat time! Turn the heat up to high for 1-2 minutes to create a crispy toasty crunchy rice crust.
Rest and enjoy. Cover the paella with some foil and let rest for 5 minutes before enjoying.

If you want the all important toasty rice bits, or socarrat, you’re going to need a paella pan. The width of a paella pan helps with rice distribution, ensuring that the rice cooks in a thin layer. A pan that feeds two is generally about 10-12 inches and a pan that serves eight is about 18 inches. The most popular pan sizes are 14 and 16 inches, which feed 4-6. Which size pan you get depends on how many people you plan to feed.

The wider the pan, the more people it feeds. They even have pans that are 4 feet wide! Years ago, around Christmas, Mike and I were in London and we saw two giant paella pans at Covent Garden. The saffron deliciousness wafting through the chilly air was so tempting so we decided to join the huge queue for a taste. I’m sure Hola Paella (now closed forever) wasn’t the most authentic paella in London, but it attracted a lot of attention and was a perfect snack to warm us up on a cold day.

If you want the all important toasty rice bits, or socarrat, you’re going to need a paella pan. The width of a paella pan helps with rice distribution, ensuring that the rice cooks in a thin layer. A pan that feeds two is generally about 10-12 inches and a pan that serves eight is about 18 inches. The most popular pan sizes are 14 and 16 inches, which feed 4-6. Which size pan you get depends on how many people you plan to feed.

The wider the pan, the more people it feeds. They even have pans that are 4 feet wide! Years ago, around Christmas, Mike and I were in London and we saw two giant paella pans at Covent Garden. The saffron deliciousness wafting through the chilly air was so tempting so we decided to join the huge queue for a taste. I’m sure Hola Paella (now closed forever) wasn’t the most authentic paella in London, but it attracted a lot of attention and was a perfect snack to warm us up on a cold day.

Soak the saffron. This will release both color and aroma. Pop some saffron into a small bowl with hot water and set aside.
Sear the proteins. Heat up some olive oil in your paella pan over medium high heat and give your proteins a quick sear: the chicken goes in skin side down and the chorizo gets browned. Shrimp gets a quick toss in before being removed so it doesn’t over cook.
Sweat the aromatics. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, and paprika and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant.
Add the liquids. Carefully add chicken stock and the saffron water and bring everything to a boil. Flip the chicken skin side up so it’s pretty.
Add the rice. Time to sprinkle in the rice! Try to add it in a thin, even layer and use a spoon to spread it out if you need to. Let everything come to a simmer and cook, uncovered until the rice absorbs almost all the liquid.
Add the seafood. Nestle in the clams and add the shrimp back on top.
Cook on low until the clams open up and the rice is al denote.
Socarrat time! Turn the heat up to high for 1-2 minutes to create a crispy toasty crunchy rice crust.
Rest and enjoy. Cover the paella with some foil and let rest for 5 minutes before enjoying.