Paella Valenciana

ByChad
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Paella valenciana with meat and beans. AI illustration from the MFD Instagram campaign.

Paella Valenciana

Chicken, rabbit, flat green beans and butter beans share a shallow layer of saffron rice. This home-stove version serves four.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Resting 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 ounces bone-in chicken thighs cut into small pieces by the butcher
  • 12 ounces bone-in rabbit cut into small serving pieces
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine salt divided
  • 6 ounces flat green beans cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 large ripe tomato halved and grated (discard skin)
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 5 cups water plus more as needed
  • 1 pinch saffron threads crumbled
  • 1 cup cooked large white butter beans drained
  • 1 1/2 cups Spanish bomba rice about 300 g

Method
 

  1. Heat the oil in a 15-inch paella pan over medium heat. Pat the chicken and rabbit dry, season with half the salt and brown on several sides, 12–15 minutes. Rotate the pan if your burner heats unevenly.
  2. Push the meat outward. Sauté the green beans for 3 minutes. Add the tomato in the middle and cook until thick. Stir the paprika into the tomato for a few seconds, then pour in the water.
  3. Add the saffron, butter beans and remaining salt. Simmer 20–25 minutes until the meat begins to tenderize. Adjust the liquid to about 4 cups before adding rice, topping up with hot water if needed. Taste the broth.
  4. Scatter the rice evenly between the pieces. Boil briskly for 7 minutes, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 11–15 minutes. Leave the grains in place. If the pan goes dry while the centers are hard, add hot water a tablespoon at a time along the edge.
  5. Check that the chicken and rabbit reach 165°F in their thickest parts and the rice is tender with the liquid absorbed. Remove from heat, rest for 5 minutes, then serve from the pan.

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A wide pan matters here. The rice needs enough surface area to lose its liquid while the grains become tender. Rotate the pan a quarter turn occasionally if a small burner leaves the rim cooler than the center.

Dish illustration from MFD’s Spain Beyond Paella Reel, created with AI.

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