How to make an authentic Valencian paella, step by step

Want to treat your friends and family to something special? Make them an authentic Valencian paella following this step-by-step recipe.

Are you ready to dig into a delicious dish? Follow this step-by-step recipe, cook with love and you’ll end up with an authentic Valencian paella that will even impress the locals. For Valencians, cooking a paella on a Sunday is something of a ritual. The perfect excuse to get together with your friends and family. So let’s get to it. 

Valencian paella is one of the most renowned dishes in the world. Its gastronomic prestige has resulted in the dish having its very own celebration - World Paella Day. All the ingredients used to make paella are grown in the agricultural land around València and of the highest quality. The rice, if possible, should be of València Designation of Origin and the Albufera variety. 

To prepare a paella for four, you’re going to need: 

• 400g rabbit

• 700g chicken

• 300g ferradura (flat green bean)

• 100g tavella (white bean)

• 200g butter beans (garrofón variety)

• 100g roget (green bean with red marks) 

• 1 ripe tomato

• 8 tablespoons of oil

• pinch of sweet paprika

• saffron

• salt

• Designation of Origin rice 

Now you’ve prepared all the ingredients, consider the following tips to make your paella perfect. The first is to create a delicious sofrito by gently frying the ingredients. The second is to make sure you use the right rice. We recommend using València Designation of Origin. And once the dish is ready, be patient, don’t serve it right away. It’s best to let the paella rest for a couple of minutes to soak up all of the flavours. 

If you pay attention to the details you will notice the difference in the finished dish. There are plenty of places where you can sit down to enjoy a Valencian paella throughout the Region of Valencia. If you’re not feeling brave enough to give cooking a paella a go by yourself, you can always learn from the experts at restaurants and houses in the Valencian agricultural land. Here you will learn how to cook this famous dish in an experience that extends far beyond the fire and pan. Cooking a paella is an indescribable experience - so come and live it for yourself.