How To Make Authentic Paella Valenciana

Paella originated in Valencia and to say the locals are proud of that fact would be an understatement. Any visitor to the city must enjoy this Spanish staple and it is near impossible not to love it if you are a big fan of rice like we are. You already know who has excellent paella in Sevilla. It was a pleasure to have paella Valencia style cooked for us by a born and bred native of Valencia. Here is an authentic paella recipe Valenciana from our host.

how to make authentic paella valenciana - man with chicken pieces uncooked
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Our host ready to cook an authentic paella!

We stayed with our hosts for a few days while apartment hunting. They have been incredible. They live off the grid in a rural town  just outside the city of Valencia and grow their own vegetables.  There are horses, geese, duck, rabbits and chickens to bother as well as the owners very sweet dog. They have two kids who also love the company of the dogs and it’s a relief to be able to leave them for long periods.

They offered to make us authentic Spanish paella and we gratefully accepted. I am going to share the paella recipe with all of you because it was absolutely delicious and fresh. We have since had the chance to eat some Spanish paella at different places since we got here. This has been the very best, because really..there’s nothing like a home cooked meal.  It takes a bit of time to prepare, but I assure you that it’s time well spent. Cooked over an open fire, paella doesn’t get more authentic than this!

 authentic paella recipe valenciana ingredients
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Some of the ingredients for making authentic paella Valenciana
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Pimenton de l avera and colorante are two of the ingredients needed for paella Valenciana
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Authentic Paella Recipe:

Ingredients for an authentic Spanish paella Valenciana:

Artichokes soaked in lemon and water

Flat green beans

Pureed tomato and chopped garlic (1 1/2 tomatoes per person)

Vegetable oil

Paella Rice

Sweet ground pepper

Garlic, chopped

Salt

Chicken and rabbit cut in pieces

Butter beans (1/2 cup for 2)

Colorant

Paella Pan (no made in China because you get what you pay for he said 🙂 )

Authentic Spanish Paella Recipe (Valenciana) Steps:

authentic paella pan heating up spanish paella recipe
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Heating the oil.. Make sure you have an authentic paella pan.  That is important.


  • Put oil in the pan. Fry the chicken and rabbit over medium fire till crispy brown, salt as needed
chicken cooking on open fire in paella pans in a quest to make real paella from Valencia Spain
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The smell of the chicken cooking already makes you drool.
  • Push them to the side and add your green beans in the center. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes so the beans get the full flavor. Add more salt to taste

mixing veggies with the chicken to make paella
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  • Part the center, add the tomato and garlic to the middle. Salt and simmer
cooking authentic valenciana paella
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Everything cooked gets pushed to the side to make room for the new
  • Add 2 teaspoonfuls of the sweet pepper (1 tsp. per person)
  • Now, mix everything together

mixing paella valencian ingredients
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  • Add water up to the handles of the paella pan (should cover everything)
  • Turn up the heat and cook for about 20 minutes so the water gets the flavor of all
  • Add a dash of colorant and more salt if needed
  • Add the artichokes and butter beans
adding rice to paella mixture
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no measuring cup needed..just down the line 🙂
  • Add the rice by making a stripe down the middle of the pan
  • Turn down the heat. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes to taste
  • You can add rosemary if desired.
couple holding paella valenciana
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The finished labor of love- Authentic Paella Valenciana
  • Let it sit for about 5 minutes. You can squeeze lemon on top if you desire.

If you’ve been curious to use AirBnB, feel free to use our link to get some credit for both you and us.

  • Enjoy!

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Eating paella Valenciana:

Paella goes very well with some red wine. Try and find some Pata Negra wine if you can. We were so stuffed, we didn’t have any dinner. The paella was accompanied with some tuna salad and finished off with Horchata  and strawberries which we finished before l could take a picture :-). Feel free to substitute seafood for rabbit and chicken to get an authentic seafood paella recipe. Just know it’s not the original from Valencia :-). There you have it.

Authentic Spanish Paella Valencia style to be enjoyed over and over again. We can’t wait to make this for ourselves now that we have a great an easy to do recipe. On a stove of course, I doubt we’ll have an outside grill like they do. We have of course seen those pre packed paella mixes and have often thought of just buying those, but we love eating freshly made things, especially pasta sauces.

What do you think of this authentic paella recipe? Have you ever had Spanish paella? If yes, do you like it? If not, are you going to try this at home?

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61 thoughts on “How To Make Authentic Paella Valenciana”

  1. I remember having a seafood paella. My aunt in London wanted me to buy her a paella pan. I was in a department store in Madrid and met up with an American family stationed at the air force base also looking to buy a paella pan. They thought it would be perfect for making pizza!

    Reply
    • Hah! That’s funny them thinking it would be good for pizza 🙂 . It’s a good idea though.. sort of Pizza Hut deep dish. You might have just given me an idea there. I love seafood paella too. In fact, l love every kind of paella and food in general .. Haha! :-). I wonder if your aunt still makes paella..

      Reply
  2. Since seafood isn’t really my favorite thing to eat, I am sure I would absolutely love this chicken & rabbit paella. It’s an interesting combination and I am sure that it tastes even better if you cook it over a real fire as your hosts did.

    Reply
    • I know for sure you would enjoy this very much. It was really, really good :-). We were definitely fortunate to observe how to cook it too and Federico can’t wait to be in his own kitchen and attempt it, even if on a stove :-).

      Reply
  3. Sounds like you’ve found a wonderful place to stay (plus they took the dogs too 🙂) and I’m wishing you lots of luck in your apartment hunting. It sounds like Valencia is going to be an amazing place to live. Love your recipe and I’ve saved it to Pinterest to try. I’ll let you know how successful it is! Paella is the bomb and every time we visit Spain we try at least one meal where it takes a starring role. Mmmm! Anita

    Reply
    • Yeah…we lucked out, and will be sad to leave it in a couple of days. Reality is that even though it’s great, we need to be in the city because all the good places are gone in an instant and we haven’t had any luck as they are taken by the time we drive there or leave it till the next day etc.. Now that the falls is over, we need to step it up a notch. The paella was the absolute bomb and you know Federico can’t wait to try it. Once you cook it, you will have to compare with his when you guys come to visit. We need all the luck we can get. It certainly doesn’t help when the landlords tell you to your face they prefer to rent to Spanish people!!!! :

      Reply
  4. What an amazing place to put roots down. Yes, I have experienced the Landlord thing before, telling us that they would prefer to rent to locals, but you will get there in the end I am sure of it. That Paella looks amazing. Intrigued by the artichokes in it! 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks for the encouraging words. Hopefully this too will be behind us soon. It is kind of jarring when the landlords say that isn’t it? Federico is like..keep it for them then. We will find people happy to take our money :-). The artichokes were fantastic and that’s coming from someone who has to be prodded to eat veggies..haha! :-).

      Reply
  5. I love paella! And I love cooking so i’m surprised i’ve never tried to make it. Yours looks so good. Maybe it’s about time I did make one of my favourite Spanish dishes!

    Reply
    • They make vegan ones at the restaurants so l’m sure it will taste just fine. I am not a big veggie eater, but the beans and especially artichokes tasted amazing in this paella and l cleaned off every crumb :).

      Reply
  6. Wow! These are the experiences I’m always seeking…locals to teach you how to cook something iconic. I love the whole story, the kitchen, the triumph! Excellent.

    Reply
    • Thanks Corinne! I love the mingling with the locals who definitely know their stuff. We somehow got lucky so silver lining with the problems :-). The paella was amazing and we can’t wait to make it ourselves :-).

      Reply
    • Us too. I always love the hosts that interact with their guests. We certainly lucked out with this family. To boot, her family hail from the pueblo right next to the one we just moved from in Seville..so small world indeed! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Paella is so delicious…we had quite a lot while in Spain. Did you know Paella is very similar to an Indian dish called Pulao (also called Biryani). Even the names are similar. We eat that quite often here.

    Reply
    • I love Biryani too :-). I had so much of it in India when we visited. I totally love anything rice based to tell the truth. So glad you like it too, it is certainly delicious :-).

      Reply
    • Us too! We lucked out with these hosts. They are pretty awesome, and pretty good cooks too. Federico has reciprocated with an Italian meal which they enjoyed. 🙂

      Reply
  8. You’ll have to let me know the name of the airbnb you stayed at as we’re interested in going to Spain next year. I think it’s a great way to meet local people and learn things just like this! The paella sounds amazing – I’ll definitely try it (though I’ll add more artichokes and beans as I’m veggie!)

    Reply
  9. This is one of the most amazing things about staying with Airbnb, your hosts sound amazing. I love Valencia when I visited in November. I must say the highlight of my trip was enjoying all of the delicious types of paella. I wish I had learned how to make it though. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

    Reply
    • Yeah..we totally love interacting with AirBnB hosts. They are such nice people these ones, we consider them friends. Federico has also cooked for them in return and we have invited them to visit if and when we finally find an apartment ;-). Glad you enjoyed your visit here. It is a pretty awesome city :-).

      Reply
  10. Amazing! That’s exactly the reason why I stay with locals as often as I can (and when I have sufficient time). I love to learn how to prepare local dishes and in return I cook something from Austria for them as well!

    Reply
    • Nice! It’s always get when you jell with the host and they cook for you. It adds to the experience. Like you, we reciprocated with an Italian dish which they really enjoyed. We have plans for them to come visit us once we are settled as we really enjoyed their company. I would love to taste one of your Austrian dishes :-).

      Reply
    • We are certainly going to try once we get settled and compare.. I know it won’t be as good but Federico is really good at recipes and so l know it will be close :-). It was incredible.

      Reply
  11. Looks yummy! Reminds me on when I was in Puerto Rico, there was a restaurant making the largest pot of paella I’ve even seen. It looked like a bath tub! I love paella!

    Reply
    • I do too! During the falls, they have paella competitions. Huge vats of paella cooked by tons of people. We didn’t get to see it this time but hopefully soon. Would love to taste the Puerto Rican version.

      Reply
    • Very good aroma indeed. Leave out the rabbit and chicken, and you would have loved it. I’m still amazed l loved the artichokes :-). I’m one of those that you need to drag kicking and screaming to eat veggies. 🙂

      Reply
  12. I think more Airbnb hosts should offer to cook for you, especially on the 1st day when arriving. We would gladly pay for it.
    Anyway, what a great experience and the food looks fabulous. Nice people.

    Frank (bbqboy)

    Reply
    • When we hosted the few times, we always made dinner for the guests. It’s a nice gesture. These hosts actually do charge for the paella dinner, but they did not charge us as we hit it off. The other guests paid :-). Definitely a great experience.

      Reply
    • I hope you get a chance to travel overseas soon. It can be very eye opening. The paella is really delicious, the specialty of Valencia that we enjoy very much, traditional or bastardized version (in their eyes.. :-), seafood etc).

      Reply

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