What is the best rice for paella?

[itstheyearzero]

I have never attempted a paella before, but tonight I am making Jamie Oliver 's chicken and chorizo paella. The recipe calls for "paella rice". Does that mean arborio or something else? Thanks

you can buy 'paella rice' in sainsburys, but i think it is strikingly similar to risotto rice.

certainly when dp once demanded paella rice for a paella he was making, that he never made again, the remainder of the packet got decanted into the risotto rice and no one was any the wiser...

the same cannot be said for the red camargue rice which was demanded, but never used as it was assumed i had not bothered to buy any...

Any short, fat grain rice is fine.

I always use risotto rice. Doesn't make any difference.

pretty sure i have seen "paella" rice in tesco, I think risotto rice is not quite right, it leaves a creamy saucy starchy effect whereas the paella should be more ricey iyswim

mind you if you have a tonne of it or cba to go shopping I'd make the recipe with what you have and call it chicken and chorizo risotto. :o

Strictly speaking paella and risotto are made in different ways but yes, you can use risotto rice. If you're buying paella rice I think calasparra is considered the best.

arborio would be fine.

Paella rice and risotto rice are similar but not the same. Risotto rice is much starchier. Paella rice is normally a variety called bomba, but in the supermarket it's just labelled as paella rice. If you want it to be properly authentic, you need the real thing but it'll be yummy either way I'm sure. I've even made risotto with basmati rice and it is nice, just not quite the right texture!

Great thanks everyone. I'll see what there is in Sainsbury's.

Just to hijack this thread slightly, can anyone suggest a good receip for paella? Thought of making it for friends next weekend but the BBC recipes seem to have varying reviews.

Bomba is what waitrose sell as paella rice. Arborio as risotto rice. I buy rice pudding rice because it is cheaper. Can't tell the difference. So I would say any short grain rice will be fine.

I have to admit I rarely use a recipe, but this one is pretty authentic:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/sep/23/foodanddrink.features4

Hello!! I am from Spain. I use arborio but if you want to use risotto please wash it. Risotto rice delivers a bit of thickness into the sauce and paella should be loser

Pudding rice is closer to bomba rice than arborio is.

Correction!! It should read "I dont use arborio"!!!
I use arborio for risotto

In spain I used Bomba SOS but I dont think I have seen it here

And sometimes cheated with Brillante but frowned upon with mum

I use 50:50 basmati and arborio - definitely not a recipe purist or remotely Spanish here though

Also, my comment won't help as you're probably cooking something delicious right now - can't go wrong with chorizo!

Update. I found Spanish paella rice in Sainsbury's and made Jamie Oliver chicken and chorizo paella. It was absolutely marvellous, so recommend using that recipe OrangeSunset!

Ottelenghis vegetarian paella is lovely especially with added chicken and prawns for those that aren't