In your Paella class, I’ll share the details of each of these key elements:
- Shallow pan: A paella pan is a two-handled, wide, thin and shallow pan.
- Sofrito: a Spanish mire poix w/tomatoes, onions, bell peppers.
- Socarrat: caramelized rice at the bottom of the pan. Pronounced: “so-kar-Rraht”
- Saffron: a spice that is just a few stigmas from each crocus flower, each plant has 4 flowers, that must be picked by hand, only 1 week in the year when in bloom, 90% grown in Iran.
- Smoked paprika: the classic version uses “sweet paprika,” but when you don’t have an open fire to create that smoky flavor, use “smoked paprika.”
“Testing Paella Pans,” by my most-trusted kitchen testing site: Cook’s Illustrated