Two Paella Questions

[rebelmum72]

Firstly, I have a traditional paella pan, which I haven't used for years because the rice always ends up burning on the bottom and not being cooked on top.
Does anyone have any ideas what I am doing wrong? I realise the heat has to be pretty low, but I keep feeling I should be stirring, yet you're not supposed to stir paella, are you?

Secondly, I would like to put prawns in it, but my dh is not keen on prawns unless they are fried/crunchy ifyswim rather than just cooked/boiled. How could I achieve this? Would the best way be to cook them seperately eg on a griddle and then just throw them on top of the paella?

TIA!

i always towards the end push the edges of my rice in as its harder to cook it on the edges as the whole hob ring doesnt cover the bottom of the pan, i also cover it with a sheet of tin foil and yup do the prawns first and just chuck them on top at the end if you want, like anybody would be bothered!

Thanks kiltycoldbum (excellent name, btw )

What does everyone else use for making paella? I thought it had to be a large, shallow dish, but could I also use a casserole-type pan which I would do risotto in?