Recipes for paella — the perfect spring dish

We all have our habits when it comes to the things we love to eat. My No. 1 staple for just about every meal I cook is rice, but I admit I really only cook it one way. It’s always jasmine rice that I cook in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and sometimes a pat of butter stirred in at the end. But as someone who eats it all the time, I often neglect other rice varieties and ways of cooking them.

But last weekend, a friend invited me to their birthday party, and when I arrived, I saw they were cooking paella. I let out an audible “oooh!” because I hadn’t eaten it in years and never think to cook the dish myself at home (granted, this paella was simmering away over a live fire, so that bit of detail also plays into why I don’t make it in my apartment where I have no outdoor space).

Surrounding the bomba rice was a golden-hued broth teeming with saffron, chunks of merguez, baby artichokes and bright green fava beans that had just been strewn over the top. Before I could even think about why we were having paella, I realized of course we’re having paella because it’s the optimal dish to show off all the best spring vegetables — everything young, vibrant and new — steaming atop the bubbling rice.

If you’re also inclined to try paella for the first time — or the first time in a long time — while everything that tastes great in it is in season, here are some recipes to start with.

Perfecto Rocher’s Paella Verda is a simple, classic recipe. The usual players are all represented: Saffron imbues the broth with its heady fragrance and cooks the rice dotted with chunks of rabbit and pork ribs. Fava beans and artichoke quarters add a green freshness and act like sponges to soak up all the gorgeous broth.

For two vegetarian spins, try this Paella With Artichokes and Mushrooms. Dried porcini mushrooms add their umami depth to the broth, while fresh mushrooms give the dish plenty of texture and meatiness. And in this Paella With Turnips, Peas and Spring Onions, baby turnips act as a relatively blank canvas for the rest of the vegetables, adding heft along with white beans.

And if you want to try out the flavor of paella but without waiting for that bag of bomba to arrive in the mail, try out Jonathan Melendez’s genius Paella Fried Rice. He uses Spanish chorizo and paprika to flavor the broth and, teeming with shrimp and peas, gives you a dish that tastes like paella but lets you use whatever leftover rice you have.

Perfecto Rocher’s Paella Verda

This paella gets most of its flavor from the broth suffused with rabbit, pork ribs and saffron. Grated tomato adds freshness to the rice as well before it’s cooked in the umami broth.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 ½ hours.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Paella With Artichokes and Mushrooms

This paella is made in two steps. First, the vegetables are prepared and cooked in the paella pan or skillet and removed; then the rice is cooked in olive oil before the vegetables are stirred back in and the broth is added. The first step can be done up to a few hours before you proceed with the rice.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 ½ hours.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Paella With Turnips, Peas and Spring Onions

This paella with peas is inspired by a classic baked rice dish from Valencia made with turnips and duck (arròz amb anèc i naps). Sweet peas and baby turnips show up at the same time of year in Los Angeles farmers markets. They complement each other beautifully.
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Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

(Christina House / For The Times)

Paella Fried Rice

This recipe takes the idea of paella and turns it into a fried rice instead — you get a lot of the same flavors without breaking the bank. Fried rice is always best with cold rice made ahead of time, so this midweek dinner can come together in no time at all if you prep before.
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Cook time: 30 minutes.

(Jonathan Melendez / For the Times)