Why it works: Saffron and rice work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 629 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Paella
4 personsIngredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Heat the oil and when it is hot enough, add the rabbit and chicken (lightly salted) and fry until lightly browned.
Then add the white and green beans and cook them together with the meat.
While they are cooking, make a clearance in the middle of the paella pan and fry the chopped tomatoes until they look a little pasty, quickly adding the paprika, stirring quickly and immediately adding the hot water or broth until it is almost to the top of the paella pan's edge.
Cook all the ingredients for about 20 minutes over a high fire and taste for salt.
Add the rice and cook
After 20 minutes add the rice, distributing it evenly, making sure the rice is covered with liquid.
The fire should be fairly high, not interrupting the boil; it takes about 20 minutes for the paella rice to cook.
Do not stir the rice once it has been added; just change its position so that the heat reaches all parts equally. All the broth should be absorbed when finished.
Rest and serve
Take the paella off the fire and let stand for about 10 minutes, covering the top with newspaper. If the rice has been cooked correctly, the grains should be loose, not clumped together or mushy.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 10 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Lima Bean | 1/2 cup (85g) cooked | 108 |
| Green Bean | 1 cup (100g) | 31 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Rabbit | not in our table | 0 |
| Saffron | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Saffron + ricetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together629 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Tomato + saffrontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together369 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,769 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides savoury meat flavour and body to the broth as it fries and simmers.
- Rabbit
- Adds rich meaty flavour and firm texture to the finished paella.
- Tomatoes
- Frying them to a paste adds acidity and sweetness that give the base depth.
- Spanish rice
- Absorbs the broth as it cooks, setting the final texture of the dish.
- White lima beans
- Hold their shape during simmering and add a creamy, starchy bite.
- Green beans
- Add tender texture and fresh vegetable flavour to the pan.
The step that matters
Do not stir the rice once it has been added. Stirring releases starch from the grains, making the rice sticky and mushy. Moving the pan so heat reaches all parts evenly lets the broth absorb while grains stay loose and separate.
Swap the lima beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, rabbit, tomato, saffron, rice):
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Almondfits better
- Lima beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, rabbit, tomato, saffron, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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