Can't get paella rice - what can be used as a substitute?

[flyingcloud]

Two panicky posts in quick succession.

I am or rather planned to make a chicken/chorizo paella dish for a dinner party tomorrow night. It's from Diana Henry's Cook Simple - great recipe, always goes down well as it's very tasty and a little bit different. However my trip to the bloody French supermarket has left me without paella rice (it's the first time I tried to buy it since being over here) and apparantly they don't stock it (massive supermarket, less than an hour from Paris).

Does anyone know what can be used as a substitute - can I use Arborio risotto rice or will it make it very creamy and will I need to use a lot more stock?

Thanks so much for any help.

I have used risotto rice in the past and all has been well . I think they are much the same .

Sounds very yummy by the way

Risotto rice is absolutely fine. We generally use that, when we can't get paella rice.

Agree, risotto rice should be fine. Very similar types of rice.

Thank you very much for your advice - yes it is yummy. I will try and post the recipe. I love the cook book, it's great for shove-in-the-oven recipes that allow me to concentrate on my guests.

...and long grain rice too. Gordon Ramsay suggests long grain if you can't find paella.