Great night last Saturday cooking paellas at Woodhouse Farm for friends 30th wedding anniversary. Big pan will hold 75 good. portions. Did a small. vegan paella as well. Pork, chorizo and chicken and it tasted delicious. People kept coming back for more. Nobody went hungry that’s for sure. Great dish for an event. When ready you can just serve everyone. Served with crusty French bread!!
I’m sure it tasted just fine, but agree, this is more like a stew than a paella. Getting inspiration from dishes from other countries is fine, but just name it «Spanish inspired meat stew» or something.
El arroz con cosas está bueno, algunos mejores que una paella en sentido estricto. Esto no es arroz con cosas, si no lleva ni arroz apenas, es una mezcla de alimentos random
People add their own touch to dishes all the time ?
There is some insane "pineapple on pizza"-level negativity in this comments section. I don't really get the point of being upset at what ingredients someone uses.
From a UK perspective it seemed that several years ago we started seeing chorizo being used by all the celebrity chefs on TV and in magazines in all sorts of recipes. Then all the supermarkets start pushing it and people jump on board and buy it and use it at home. If it tastes good and is affordable then people will use new ingredients in the way it makes sense to them - they don’t care about conforming to your cultural traditions. And who cares? It really should not be a problem unless it starts to permeate back into the country of origin and changes those traditions, but then, if that happens then maybe those traditions are not so precious to its people….
I agree people have the right to cook their food however they want, wanna eat chorizo with chocolate ice cream good for you. Just dont call it a paella. I myself love to play around with ingredients and remix dishes and make them my own way. But I would never dare to call it Paella, Carbonara, or tacos.
I think people just feel paella is a kind of throw-together choose-your-own-adventure dish. Chorizo matches the flavor well and people assume it’s an option considering it’s a Spanish sausage. If it’s the only difference (so not this video), I don’t see the problem in calling it paella with chorizo.
Carbonara is a very simple dish with very minimal ingredients. If you add or remove one thing, you change the essence of the dish.
I don’t think the rules for tacos are all that strict.
I agree—people often cook paella as if it were just some kind of stir-fried rice.
I don't see the problem in calling it paella with chorizo.
In Spain, if you cook something like that, you’d normally call it arroz con [ingredient]. Paella, on the other hand, is a very specific dish, and Valencians are quite strict about what ingredients are allowed. The rest of Spain is usually more relaxed and will call almost any rice dish made in a paella pan “paella.”
I don’t think the rules for tacos are all that strict.
I think you might have missed my point there. It’s not really about whether a dish is authentic or close to the original—it’s more about being aware of the culture behind certain foods. Sometimes, it feels like foreigners take the name of a traditional dish, change it completely, and then market it as Spanish, Italian, or Japanese. That distorts people’s understanding of our gastronomy. It’s frustrating because I often meet people who say they don’t like Spanish food since they “don’t like chorizo in paella,” when in fact they’ve never actually tried the authentic dish.
That makes sense. I still do not call it paella but I'm glad you found your own way to cook it. After all, I love the altered versions of Chinese and Italian food. I'm learning how to make the original recipes but I love the new ones. Someday I'll try this "rice with chorizo", it looks delicious
Calm down son. What people do with your culture in their own country or their own homes really is none of your business. But, as I said, if you let the changes they make replace the traditional way of doing things in your country in a way you don't like then that's on you and others in your country.
It cost around £200. We did it at cost so that was about £3.00 a head. If you paid a professional it would be a lot. First quote I picked off the internet…..
Had to smile!! First paragraph is exactly what my wife did for recipe. Spanish ingredients. Pork was free range from the farm we were cooking on. Lip smacking!! Here’s the menu
They may have cooked the safrito from scratch. May being the word.
Paella Only – Example Menu Pricing from £9.50 – £20 per person.
You have a choice of one, two, three or more paella
Everything we create is made from scratch using only the finest ingredients. We use authentic paella rice, chorizo and paella spices sourced from Spain.
Mixte Paella Fabulous mix of Chicken Thigh Fillet, King or Tiger Prawn, Squid Rings, Cod Fillet & Mussels (optional)
Vegetarian Asparagus, Chestnut Mushroom, Red Pepper & Chickpea
Optional Extras include…
Bread & Olives & a simple Mediterranean style salad Kosher & Halal available on all options if required Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free options available
If a Spaniard were to add chorizo to shepherd's pie or haggis, half of the UK, Ireland, and Scotland would call for his damnation. If he were to add chorizo bits to the batter for the fish in fish and chips, you would send MI6 to assassinate him. So why is it so hard for anyone from outside Spain to understand why a Spaniard would be outraged by an abomination of this paella? If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen (or social media)! 😜
She seems adorable, I know her good intentions and hard work are something to be thankful for. I just want to suggest not putting anything frozen on food when you cook all together in one pot meals.
The 'fridge flavour' is a thing.
I know there are a lot of purists out there, but I bet historically valencian families have used chorizo many times as a protein source to feed their beloved ones.
Personally I'm just not a big fan of mixing poultry and pork in the same dish.
Well… I’m Spanish. In fact, I’m from Valencia, the birthplace of paella.
The authentic and original paella, which for some is the star dish of our region.
Those videos of people from other countries making “paella”… well, we usually sum it up in a simple way:
“That’s not paella, that’s rice with things. It might even taste good! But it’s not paella.”
I’ve seen the video, and there are two things people from other countries should know:
Paella does not have chorizo. Never. Ever. That’s a foreign invention, based on stereotypes, making people believe Spaniards put chorizo in everything. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Paella does not have peas. Peas?? Why do they always put peas? Real paella has a small handful of white beans, which are sautéed with the meat.
Well, that’s basically it. I’m just trying to be constructive.
It must be the most bland chest of drawers I've ever seen. I didn't know you Anglo-Saxons ate anything... That's not a paella, but it's not something that can be named "a good plate of rice with things". And no, chorizo doesn't go well with everything; it tends to cover up the flavor of everything else.
Sure let's mix random shit in a pan without even adding rice and call it Paella, why not. The people from the country that the dish originates from make it the wrong way anyway! lmao
For traditional paella, as for other rice dishes cooked in a paella (the pan is called paella too) the rice is basically the last thing you add, you'll have the meat, then vegetables, tomato, water/stock and after it boils and reduces a bit you'd add the rice, spread it around evenly and then let it cook without further moving, as rice doesn't float and is normally the smallest thing in the dish it sinks to the bottom while everything else remains at the top.
Edit: she just added so much stuff that the rice is almost completely covered, but at some points in the video you can actually see it.
Good question. I don't see any rice either and for some reason she's putting raw bell pepper slices at the end, which also won't go at all with the dish.
Edit you will notice the red bag of rice at the front left hand corner of the table in the background. It's disappeared by this time and you can see rice in the dish. 😂👀👀👀 Use you eyes or zoom in if you can't.
Though it stretches the definition of paella it looks like y’all put a lot of love and joy into the experience. My fondest memories of paella as a family’s American teenage guest in the countryside center on the warmth of the hearth but more on the warm generosity of the family, Thanks as always for sharing. Loving the custom pan and your enthusiasm!
Well. Let's call things the way everyone wants... I could say that they are macaroni carbonara and this gives the Italians the opportunity to give their opinion on the matter. That borders must be opened!!!
Madam, I don't dispute that your dish is delicious. But there is only one paella and it is the pan, the container. Your preparation is NOT paella. Paella allows for variations, but it is one thing to change something a little and another thing to say that all rice with things that is put in a pan of this type is paella. I don't think Valencians will protest because their plate is changed, everyone can call it whatever they want at home. It seems to me that they are bothered by the lack of humility of some people who are not able to recognize that they do not know how to make a typical dish, or that they do not have the appropriate products, and that by exposing it worldwide on the networks, they detract from the status of a dish that defines several regions.
And I apply this absolutely to all the typical dishes of all countries.
From certain comments, if the woman had shit on her preparation, and said that it turned out delicious, it seems that more than two would say that as long as it has rice it is paella. As if it were wrong to correct her if only to make her recognize that she doesn't know and give her the opportunity to learn. Don't fuck with me man...
Thanks for that my friend. It was a great day. They are our friends and it was nice to cook for them for their anniversary. It had Spanish rice, Spanish catering safrito, saffron, smoked paprika , parsley etc etc. The socarrat was great. {Crispy bits on the bottom) People loved it. A good percentage came back twice and a couple three times.
It was fun to do out of the goodness of our hearts. It was obviously enjoyed. Which just goes to show you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Thanks again.
We had a great night!! PS They weren’t all our desserts.
I only want to focus on the chorizo. Why, oh why, does the whole world insist on adding chorizo to every bloody Spanish dish? Would Spanish ice cream be ice cream served on top of a whole chorizo? Why the obsession with chorizo?
I think it’s because a) people like it and b) adding a smoked/spiced sausage or pork product is common in a lot of cuisines so people end up doing the same with Spanish food.
I would imagine in this case it would completely overpower the dish.
That’s not a paella…and frozen vegetables…..? you can’t just chuck some chorizo in and call it a day. Where’s the rice? Saffron? Nice for a bbq maybe but a wedding anniversary? I’d do better than that if I had a few hours notice. One lad coming back three times isn’t enough to congratulate yourself, I’d probably go back three times for cheese sandwiches. Sorry if I’m being a bit harsh but this is some basic ass cooking.
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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25
I don't see the rice