When in Sevilla last month, Mark and I took a paella class with Fernando from Sevilla Food. Okay, paella didn’t originate in Sevilla (it’s from Valencia, actually) but it is enjoyed nationwide, and that encouraged us to seek an excellent tutorial on how to make a traditional and authentic paella. Everything about the experience was just fantastic: meeting Fernando, who was knowledgeable, warm, kind, and good natured; and making new friends Matt and Karmyn from Ohio, who also attended the class. And the location? — a rooftop terrace with the most perfect view of the Sevilla cathedral and its Giralda tower.
For me, it was learning how not to make all the mistakes I have been making with prior attempts at paella. The paella we learned from Fernando was chicken and vegetable based. He shared with us that it traditionally includes rabbit, as well, but too many people hesitate to eat rabbit, so he went solely with chicken — none of us suffered from the omission. Fernando started the evening with a glass of wine and some hors d’œuvres, giving us all a chance to get to know one another as we watched evening settle over the jaw-dropping view. Then he began explaining the ingredients and the process. Soon thereafter he had us all taking turns at the paella pan. It was really fun. Of course, the evening ended with us all sharing the paella alongside a pitcher of sangria. Fernando followed up the next day by sending us the group photo and recipes for the paella and the sangria.
If you are in Sevilla, this is an incredible way to spend an evening. While my Spanish got better during our three weeks in Spain, I am very glad to report that the class is taught in English. We booked our experience through Airbnb, but you can book directly through the Sevillafood website or by writing to Fernando at Info@sevillafood.com. Let me know if you have any questions.
During the class, I asked Fernando about Paella Negra. He told us that it is a more modern iteration, not considered traditional but becoming very popular in Spain. We saw it on many restaurant menus and, in one case, watched it being made. So, while perhaps more modern, it is now an ingrained part of the paella culture, and that is what we are making this week.
~ David
Paella Negra
To print the recipe, click the small printer icon below.
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 4 large calamari tubes, sliced into 3/8-inch rings
- 1 pound large shrimp (approximately 3 per person, depending on size)
- 8 ounces cooked mussels (weight without the shells)
- 1 small white onion, peeled and minced
- 3 cups bomba rice (see notes below)
- 1 large tomato, grated (or finely chopped)
- 16 grams (4 packets) squid ink
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 5 cups fish and/or seafood broth
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- chopped fresh parsley
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 14-inch skillet or paella pan over medium high heat. When hot add the calamari rings and sauté for just a minute or two, stirring, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the shrimp to the pan (and more olive oil if needed), season with salt, and sauté until just turning pink on both sides. When the shrimp are almost pink on both sides, add in the cooked mussel meats to warm them a bit and coat them with some oil. Remove the shrimp and mussels from the pan and set them aside with the calamari rings.
- Adding more olive oil as needed, sauté the onions until clear. Add the rice, stir well until it is fully coated with oil. Now, unlike risotto, you are not looking for the rice to be opaque.
- Add the grated tomato and stir well. Squeeze in the squid ink and stir to distribute evenly. Add the wine, then distribute the rice evenly around the pan. Then, increase the heat to medium high and very carefully, pour in the chicken and seafood broth, so as not to disturb the rice. Season with salt and pepper, and let cook for 20 to 30 minutes, undisturbed. Paella is never stirred. (In my previous attempts, that was my first of three common mistakes: while cooking paella is cooking, do not stir it, do not cover it, do not put it in the oven).
- As the paella cooks, the broth will reduce and you will be looking for the moment when the surface of the rice is looking fairly dry, and you hear a faint crackling sound, and see little holes of steam dotted around the top. You can test a little bit on the bottom to see if the soccarat (crust) is forming. There is a fine line between soccarat and burning, so be careful!
- Evenly distribute the seafood on top of the paella, turn off the heat, and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Let it sit for five minutes. Uncover, sprinkle the top with chopped parsley, and serve at the table with lemon wedges.
- Serves 6.
- Notes:
- • You may read that you can use arborio rice instead of the Bomba rice, but I have found the results are very different. The arborio rice gets quite gummy compared to the Bomba rice.
- • If you get a 1-pound bag of Bomba rice, it will be about 2 1/4 cups. You can use this and adjust the liquid accordingly (a total of 6 1/2 cups liquid), or open a second bag to get 3 cups of the rice.
- • Squid ink is not easy to find in most stores, but can be found online. Mine is Spanish and came in 4-gram packets. (I use four packets for a batch of Paella Negra.)
- • Squid ink stains — they call it ink for a good reason!
- • For my seafood, I used shrimp, calamari, and mussels. Those are what we saw being used in Spain, but you can change it up to meet your personal taste.
© 2024 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
Donn Poll
November 12, 2022 at 7:06 amBeautiful! Looks fun and delicious.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 12, 2022 at 10:16 amI hope we can talk soon so we can share some Sevilla info!
Chef Minmi
November 12, 2022 at 8:46 amOh my goodness! That view!!! You can’t have an experience much better than this one. I ordered paella in Peniscola, up the coast from Valencia, and it was awful. I’ll print this recipe.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 12, 2022 at 10:17 amOh, I’m sorry you had such a disappointing paella — especially so near to Valencia! This was a really fun (and flavorful) evening!
Jill W Becker
November 12, 2022 at 9:14 amAnother wonderful story with beautiful photos and an interesting recipe. Looks like you and Mark had a wonderful evening.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 12, 2022 at 10:18 amIt was a blast. We would do it again!
Gerlinde
November 12, 2022 at 12:11 pmDavid, I want to go to Valencia and cook with Fernando. Thanks for sharing. Your paella looks great. I will share the recipe with a friend who loves to cook paella.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:09 amThanks, Gerlinde — Fernando is wonderful and really helped us understand… but make sure you go to Sevilla (that’s where he is!). 🙂
Matt Buehrer
November 12, 2022 at 6:28 pmKarmyn and I really enjoyed our time spent with you and Mark. The paella cooking class was a highlight of our trip to Spain. Tonight we made a paella with rabbit and chorizo, loved this combination. I ordered some sofrito made in Spain, it added a nice depth of flavor to the dish.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:11 amYour paella sounds amazing, Matt. I’m getting rabbit soon from our farmers market and cannot wait to try the paella we learned with chicken and rabbit. It was really fun meeting you and Karmyn, too — and I love your photos!
Pauline McNee
November 12, 2022 at 6:44 pmWow, what a wonderful experience David. I love doing cooking classes when we travel, they are so informative and lots of fun. We ate Paella in Valencia at a restaurant on the beach, but I really doubt it was any better than yours. I’ve learned a lot from your post, and am dying to make a paella now. I’ve never seen Bomba rice so I’ll try and find it locally. I’d like to give the chicken and vegetable version a try as well which would be more economical here if cooking for a crowd. Squid ink is a wonderful addition, and makes your dish so restaurant worthy. So pleased you and Mark had such a wonderful time. I remember Sevilla as being a lovely city, except when we tried to park our hire car in an underground carpark, tee hee.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:13 amThank you so much, Pauline. I really had no idea how many mistakes I was making in the Paella process! I agree that the chicken paella is much more economical when cooking for a crowd, and it’s just as good! Sevilla is truly a stunning city, which you will see when I start posting about it next week.
sherry
November 12, 2022 at 9:47 pmwhat marvellous fun! I love rabbit so i would love to have it included in paella. Nothing quite like that gamey earthy taste of wild rabbit! Great photos too david.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:14 amWe love rabbit, too, Sherry… But it’s very hard to find here. Not one of your run-of-the-mill meats. I have some on order from our farmers market, and I look forward to making the chicken and rabbit paella soon.
Fran @ G'day Souffle
November 13, 2022 at 1:31 pmWhat a wonderful setting for making paella (and Fernando is quite handsome, too). I’ve made many paellas but never with squid ink- sounds interesting. I have not yet been able to master the soccarat- either I don’t get much crispiness at all or it turns out burned.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:16 amOf all the paellas I’ve made since coming back, I’ve managed to achieve the soccarat twice. Only imagine how proud I felt, Fran. 🙂
Valentina
November 13, 2022 at 9:34 pmPaella making on a rooftop in Sevilla!? Does it get any better? Seriously, what an incredible experience this must have been. My last trip to Spain (in an amazing beach town, Las Negras, in the south), I had Paella Negra and loved it. Your version looks so good. I love the shrimp presented on top, rather than mixed in. The contrast of colors is so pretty. 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:20 amIt’s funny, Valentina, that most of the recipes I saw for seafood paella mix the seafood into the rice. However, when we were watching a well-known paella chef through a window, she always put the seafood on top. We really like that, as it showcases what’s best about the dish.
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
November 14, 2022 at 6:26 amLooks like you had a blast!
You know I absolutely love paella and have tried to teach myself. The results haven’t been bad at all, if I do say so myself, but still there are some really tricky bits, especially two points: (1) Judging the amount of liquid and how high to turn the flame, so the rice cooks but doesn’t become gummy, and (2) getting that soccarat, which to me is the best part of any paella. What you say about that “thin line” is real! Anyway, I can’t imagine a better way to master the technique than on a Sevilla rooftop with a knowledgeable, warm, kind, and good natured chef!
Cocoa & Lavender
November 14, 2022 at 7:21 amI know, Frank, the ratio of liquid to rice is a really fine line. I’ve been lucky, and it’s come out very well. When I travel, I don’t take many cooking classes, but this one was definitely the best I’ve had!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
November 14, 2022 at 9:54 amA cooking class with such a gorgeous view? That’s a win-win! Also, I don’t think I’ve actually ever had Paella Negra, but this dish looks terrific!
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:31 amIt was truly spectacular up there! Ben – you have access to some increible seafood there – I am sure you could make a paella negra or paella de mariscos that would knock everyone’s socks off.
Ronit
November 15, 2022 at 4:45 pmSuch a tasty experience!
The paella looks amazing. 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:39 amThanks, Ronit! I’m actually making it again Monday!
Christina Conte
November 15, 2022 at 7:28 pmI know how much fun a paella class is as I took one in Barcelona a few years ago! Your post has reminded me it’s been too long since I made paella! Thanks for the reminder!
Ron
November 16, 2022 at 12:13 amWhat a fantastic experience and one we would treasure as well.
David, if I was asked what my greatest fear in the kitchen is it would be the making of paella. Perhaps it is the result of a very bad attempt at making the dish many years ago. Luckily, Eva loves making paella. But, with that said, the concept of adding squid ink is brilliant. Perhaps it’s time this oldtimer gives the dish another try.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:43 amRon, the thing I learned in Sevilla was this: paella isn’t difficult. You just need to follow the basic and very specific instructions. I am sure you could make an incredible paella – maybe with Eva’s assistance? 🙂
sippitysup
November 16, 2022 at 5:51 pmThat’s one authentic smile you have there. I don’t know if it’s the paella or the view (or the sangria!). GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:46 amProbably the view. Maybe the sangria helped!
Raymund
November 16, 2022 at 7:15 pmWow such a special dish, we do it in Philippines as well but only during special occassions specifically during the Holiday Season. Love this.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:47 amIt is rather a special occasion dish – but, these days, after (during) COVID, getting together with friends is really a special occasion.
2pots2cook
November 19, 2022 at 2:59 amYou definitely had wonderful time. There were beauties around every corner and each one better then previous! Glad for you both so very much!
Cocoa & Lavender
November 19, 2022 at 10:50 amIt was a spectacular trip – and I cannot wait to return.
John
December 5, 2022 at 5:25 pmThat’s the most perfect location for a cooking class. So much fun! Great food and company. And that view!
Cocoa & Lavender
December 9, 2022 at 9:33 amWe really enjoyed it, John, and the view certainly didn’t hurt!
Inger
December 9, 2022 at 9:57 pmWhat a great travel event–and yum! Making note!
Cocoa & Lavender
December 10, 2022 at 6:43 amWe certainly enjoyed it immensely!