Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

Create Cook Share this easy paella-inspired recipe that delivers all the flavours you love without the fuss. While it’s not a traditional Spanish paella, it’s loaded with fresh seafood, juicy chicken, smoky chorizo and arborio rice infused with saffron for that beautiful golden colour and flavour. Perfect for feeding a crowd, it makes a stunning centrepiece for your next dinner party or family gathering.

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

Who else fights over the golden, caramelised bits of rice stuck to the bottom of the pan? You know the ones - crispy, packed with flavour and always the first thing to disappear. They're easily my favourite part of any paella, and this easy paella-inspired recipe delivers plenty of them.

While it's not a traditional Spanish paella, it captures all the flavours we love in a simpler, more approachable way. Loaded with fresh seafood, juicy chicken, smoky chorizo and saffron-infused arborio rice, it's a colourful, crowd-pleasing dish that's perfect for entertaining. Bring it straight to the table and let everyone dig in, it's guaranteed to be the star of the meal.

To balance the rich, savoury flavours of the paella, I love serving it with my Orange and Olive Salad. Light, fresh and bursting with vibrant flavours, it comes together in just 10 minutes and pairs beautifully with seafood, rice dishes, grilled meats and pasta.

The combination of sweet oranges, salty olives and crisp fennel is what makes this salad so special. Everything is tossed in a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and a drizzle of honey for the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. For an extra burst of freshness, I like to finish it with a little orange zest, but honestly, it's absolutely delicious either way.

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

Helpful Tips

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS REQUIRED:

• Paella Bomba Rice is the most sought-after for paella. However, if you can't find Bomba Rice then the second best is Arborio Rice which is a short Italian Rice. It has a creamy chewy texture due to its higher amylopectin (one of two components in its starch) content. The rice in paella is cooked uncovered - this is a specific cooking technique for a paella.

• Saffron Threads: Saffron is one of the most expensive spices. You will find it in either threads or powder form. The saffron threads are the whole stigma from the saffron crocus, while saffron powder has been gently dried and ground. You can not just add the saffron threads to a meal - they need to be activated to release their flavour and colour - hence why we add them during the cooking process rather than at the end. Good quality saffron will give a sweet, earthy, and floral taste to your paella so make sure you purchase from a reputable company as there are cheap imitations that can make the paella taste bitter and metallic.

HOW TO MAKE A PAELLA

Paella is made in only 5 simple steps:

1. Fry off the onion, garlic, capsicum, and chorizo.

2. Add the tomatoes and spices.

3. Add the chicken, rice, and stock.

4. Allow cooking. Do not combine or stir from this point onwards.

5. Add the seafood and allow to cook further and rest before serving.

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

Frequently Asked Questions

What Pan Should You Use?

The best pan for making paella is a traditional paella pan. These pans are wide and shallow, allowing the rice to cook in an even layer with maximum contact with the heat. This helps the liquid absorb and evaporate evenly, creating the delicious golden, caramelised crust on the bottom of the pan that paella is famous for.

I personally own two types of paella pans: a smaller enamel steel pan and a larger polished steel paella pan. Both work beautifully and produce excellent results. For this recipe, I used my larger paella pan, which is perfect for feeding a crowd.

Don't Stir the Rice

Unlike risotto, paella should not be creamy. Once you've added the stock and given everything a single stir to distribute the ingredients evenly, resist the temptation to stir again.

Stirring releases the starches from the rice, creating a creamy texture. For paella, we want the grains to remain separate and fluffy while allowing a beautiful golden crust to develop on the bottom of the pan. Leaving the rice undisturbed is one of the secrets to achieving that authentic paella-style finish.

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

HOW TO SERVE A PAELLA

My favourite way to serve a paella is to place it in the centre of the table for everyone to dig in, alongside a salad, drinks and (this is controversial now....) some buffalo mozzarella. I think I may have just caused chaos in Spain by writing that! But yes, I absolutely love some shredded pieces of buffalo mozzarella on the side of my paella. Now, this is NOT traditional but all I can say is give it a try before you judge it.

BRINGING IT TOGETHER

While the paella is simmering, prepare the salad. By the time the rice cooks (takes around 15 minutes) you will have the salad and dressing ready. Place onto the dining table alongside any other tapas you want to add and all that needs to be done is complete the paella. If organised with your ingredients, you can have this Easy Paella and Orange and Olive Salad ready in no time at all.

How to Make my Easy Inspired Paella

How to Make my Orange and Olive Salad

And now it’s time to start cooking! As always, if you make any of my recipes, I would love to hear your feedback. Don’t forget to save it on your Pinterest board as well! I have a board named CreateCookShare that you can follow and save. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Happy Cooking, Margaret x

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad

Easy Paella

Serves 8 for 42cm size paella pan (halve the recipe for smaller pan)

Prep 20 | Cook 40

INGREDIENTS

3 cups Arborio Rice

8 cups chicken broth / stock, heated

250g chorizo, sliced 5mm thick

3 chicken thigh fillets, sliced 1cm

16 prawns, peeled with heads and tails intact

16 calamari rings

3 roma tomatoes, diced (or 400g diced tomatoes canned)

1 large red capsicum, diced

1 cup green peas

2 brown onions, diced

6 garlic cloves, chopped

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1.5 teaspoons paprika

Juice and Zest of 1 lemon

Generous amount of salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add EVOO, onion, garlic, capsicum and chorizo and cook until onion is translucent.

2. Add tomatoes, paprika, saffron and cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes then add the rice and heated chicken stock. Season generously and stir making sure the rice is evenly distributed and in an even layer.

4. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

5. Nestle into the rice the calamari and prawns and sprinkle the peas over the top. Cook for 2 minutes and then turn over the prawns and calamari and cook a further 2 minutes.

6. Turn off heat, cover with foil and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

7. Garnish with lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh parsley. Serve immediately

Orange and Olive Salad

Serves 6-8 as a side

Prep 10

INGREDIENTS

Salad:

1 head red oak lettuce

100g baby rocket

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons flaked almonds

2 oranges, peeled, cut in half and sliced

¾ cup mixed olives, kalamata and green

Dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 heaped tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place lettuce, rocket and fennel into a serving bowl. Drizzle half of the dressing over and toss to evenly coat.

2. Add the olives, oranges and almonds and remaining dressing and toss again to combine. Serve immediately.

Easy Paella with Orange and Olive Salad