paella

Not sure why everyone is using this for personal rants, I would just like to say that I found there was too much smoked paprika in this. The flavor was overpowering and I didn't enjoy the seafood as much as I felt I should have. For those that don't like such a spicy flavour, use half a teaspoon or less of paprika, because it really did take over the dish. I do like spicy food but my constructive criticism is definitely that there was just too much for a paella. I also used no meat as a pescitarian, so used mussels and scallops instead, which was very nice.

thanks Jamie I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, your such a very good celebrity chef

thank u Jamie!! is perfect!

I lived in Spain for over four and a half years and never ate the same paella twice. The first time I ever had it was on a date with a Muslim Moroccan on the Costa Brava. He had to go out of his way to order it without pork, or it would've contained pork, so these Valencian arguments that paella would never include pork, I think are too regionally based. When I returned to North America, everyone expected me to be able to make a great paella. In Spain, I'd never thought it necessary to learn how to make it, since I could get it anywhere, so I had to start from scratch. My friends in Madrid had given me a Spanish cookbook as a going-away present, so I got it out and ADAPTED the heck out of their paella recipe, so that it would be more like the seafood-and-vegetable-filled paellas I'd loved in Barcelona. (The saffron is both crucial and universal; the nuanced flavor it adds is indescribable, and only a corner-cutting, cheap restaurant would substitute orange coloring or turmeric.) Now I'm known for my paellas, but honestly, no two cooks make the same recipe, regardless of where they're from!

Jamie, I'm of French origins so what do I know? Got all your books (I think) and this recipe is introduced in your book as the combination of meat and fish, which is my experience in north eastern and northern Spain. Chicken, seafood (allsorts) and yes good old chorizo. Never been to Valencia so never have savored a proper job and regardless this doesn't purport to be authentic but despite anything it is quick and easy to prepare and cook and is delicious. I have been known to use precooked (to remove fat) merguez sausages. slightly more piquant but a good merguez is full of wonderful flavour. As you said in your book just add a bit of what you fancy. Bonne Apetit.

I can't say I've used Jamie's recipe as such...I have my own that is nothing like 'authentic', but I like it and my wife likes it! Jamie's recipe looks like a great way to start making a Paella...hopefully people would then adapt it to what they like...not everyone would put seafood in if they don't like it!

Paella is traditionally a poor dish made with whatever was available in that region or that season, nohard and fast rules.. Watch Rick Stein series.Ornst

After discovering this blog by accident it did make me laugh seeing some of the comments here.<br /> Being lucky enough to split my time between Spain and UK, I was cocky enough to cook Paella for my Spanish neighbors as a kind of thankyou. It was Seafood and I did use onions, chorizo AND bacon, but no chicken. The neighbors not only enjoyed this but went back for seconds and thirds, something I'm told the Spanish won't do, they will simply leave it if they don't like it.<br /> According to the Valencians there is no true Paella outside of Valencia, so my neighbors tell me, and having been to several local Paella competitions even the Spanish families can't agree between them on the correct amount of flavouring, salt etc.<br /> So I say carry on Jamie, a recipe is just a guide after all. Phillipa ( see comment 68 ) is quite right. After all once you've had migas cooked for you, you realize that just because it's Spanish and it's been cooked in Spain, doesn't mean you'll like it.

I actually cannot believe the negativity displayed in a lot of comments here!!<br /> JAMIE you are an AMAZING role model to many here in the uk and indeed from many places i have visited in europe and africa. Your cullinary skills are second to none, especially how you have put your own spin on traditional recipes allows for versitility in the homes and not to mention the way you have single handedly transformed school menus. (And we love your restaurants too) Keep up the good work :D

i am only fifteen and to see that so many of you can comment negatively on someone who is just trying to share his own style of cook is disgraceful. This recipe is wonderful and even though it does not follow the tradition paella recipe, it is creative and easy to make. I have had a tradition paella before and even though both these recipes have different cooking methods, ingredients and forms of presentation i still think that this paella has the ability to be as good as any paella, traditional or not.

It's interesting that the vast majority of comments from Spaniards, even the ones in Spanish have been respectful and constructive. The most bilious was from a Frenchwoman. It's not an authentic paella but have you seen the one in the book? Even worse- it advised stirring and stirring as the rice cooks, which everyone knows would wreck the paella- it's not a risotto. Jamie has his style of cooking, probably can't lay claim to authenticity with most of his foreign recipes but a lot of them are tasty and work out OK. I wont be cooking this paella though

Great recipe. Just to annoy all the Spanish people on here I included some leftover English sausages - delicious!

i just cooked this dish like the geeza said. i dont give a monkeys about tradition, all I wanted was a good feed. did exactly what it said on the tin; de lumpin licious. nuff said

All your recipes are nice and simple to make, adapatable and above all easy to incorpoarte into your own weekly budget, which especially helps us skint mums who want to cook wholesome and exciting food for the kids yet cant seem to justify the cost !!! thanks x

Thank you Jamie. Cooking this dish was fuss free and easy to follow.The whole family loved it.<br />

Get over it (professional cooks) it has a unique sense of Jamie edge. Try it love it or hate it everyone likes different styles, taste, preferences all the negative banter is wasted energy.

I am a student at Runshaw College, Leyland (Nr Preston!). Part of my assignment was to make an international dish. This paella worked very well and I achieved my distinction.<br /> <br /> Thanks Jamie!

I can't believe all the negative comments on this. I have eaten paella in Spain many times and for an "easy, try at home" experience this is perfect and totally captures the essence of the real thing. So if you want to do it with rabbit then do it with rabbit! It is not a crime to adapt a recipe to your own taste. It's easy to do and comes out great every time.

I have just returned from my first proper visit to Barcelona (previous trip was as a young child, i'm now 46)<br /> I didn't think I was a paella fan as I am cautious about shell-fish but I have to say that I ordered it twice. Both occasions were in the Old-town area in what I would term as Tapas Bar/Restaurants; a small single portion and a larger double portion pan in separate venues.<br /> I'm pretty sure the rice in both was of a risotto type; very short grains and there was a slightly liquid texture. Obviously individually baked in the their pans, the rice had a slight creaminess, heaps of flavor and a bit crusty round the edges - Delicious!!<br /> <br /> Question - what do you think the type of rice was? I want to try this back home in London.

I really like Jamie, his recipes and his tv programs, and I think that it's okay if he changes things. I'm sure also that Jamie's Paella is great, but for all the people that think that we spanish are silly, well... You haven't taste a real paella and don't know what your missing. Some times less is more, and never so true than in the paella. And of course, it has its ways and its method. The paella it's not a fancy risotto dish, it's something much simpler, much better and delicious.

Hi, I pride myself as being able to cook a real good Paella. But this recipe is inaccurate and also the stock quantity is all wrong. My daughter had cooked it today by following this recipe accurate and we end up with more like a soup than a Paella. 2 liter of stock is 4 times the quantity required. It is all wrong, please amend it before more people waste money and time in following this recipe and be put off by the result.

Made this for supper tonight and both kids had seconds. It was super tasty. Traditional or not doesn't matter, it was just plain good!! Thanks for the recipe.

Whoever is complained here, guys, you're just jealous to Jamie's work. Try to cook it, and then complain about this particular dish, but no you're just criticizing what paella should have. Don't like how Jamie cooks, so what are you doing on his website?
Jamie, thanks for this recipe! It was so tasty! And actually whatever you cook appeared to be delicious! Keep up the good work!

I have traveled spain many times, and yet only once have I ever managed to eat Paella because they always seem to need 24 hours notice, not sure if this is because I tend to stay in rural Spain and not the big cities, anyway I think everyone ought to calm down, if you are Spanish and don't think it is authentic then don't make it! why are you even looking for a recipe if you are such experts., if you decided to cook Fish and Chips we wouldnt start carrying on!.........I am going to cook it tonight.........btw the once I did have it in Spain it was a bit bland!

hola,soy una valenciana que no entiende como se le puede llamar a este plato paella,soy una gran admiradora de jamie oliver y me encanta la cocina,y os puedo asegurar que la verdadera paella valenciana no lleba ni la mitad de estos ingredientes,yo os invito a todos a venir a valencia e ir a la albufera y probeis la autentica paella,tanto de pollo y conejo como de marisco,y si probais el arroz abanda ummmmmmmmmmmm no os lo perdais por favor,bueno un cordial saludo y os esperamos en valencia.

I regard myself as a pretty good cook and fed this ""paella"to a number of guests, including a real acknowledged foodie. Whateveranyone thinks, it is wonderful. If there really is no recipe then this deserves a shot at being "ït"". Well done (again) Jamie!

Hi Jamie, I've traveled through Spain many times to plenty of different citys, and have searched for a paella recipe for home cooking that is tasty but most of all easy to make! This one is both! And may I say, it is much more delicious than half the paellas I've eaten in Spain!

Ya veo que todos los españoles estamos de acuerdo, que esa receta no es paella, puede ser arroz con chorizo y tocino, pero realmente una buena paella Valenciana, de donde son originarias las paella no lleva,ni chorizo ni tocino....................

Por otra parte existe una receta tambien de la cominidad Valenciana, que es arroz al horno y quizas lo que ha hecho Jaime, se parece un poco , esta lleva tocino, chorizo, morcillas y costillas de cerdo, pero nunca, nunca lleva mariscos y se cuece en el horno.............

Yo invito a Jaime a que se venga unos dias a España y yo una simple ama de casa, le enseñaria unas cuantas recetas de las que si son típicas Españolas...............



un saludo.

As you perfect know, at the mediterranean sea there are a lot of recipies of rice.
At the spanish east coast, from Girona till Murcia, any small village cook a little bit differnt rice.
Paella is the name of the large pan, but the classical rice can be cooked in very differnt types of container, even in a terracotta bowl.
As you have done in Italy, please try to go to spanish coast and learn about them. It was a exciting experience for you and your team.
As any one comment before me, Spain now is the country with more high categorie restaurants of the world. The best one, El Bulli, may be is not a real restaurant. But...
Spain is the best country in the world to eat fish well cooked. In Japan do not cooked it.
Have you eat "Bacalao al pil-pil"? There is nothing similar in any country.
Chorizo is better to eat dry or fried, not in paella.
Please come to us and discover the other real mediterranean food.
I really enjoy your recipies and your way to cook. Thank's for your energy
JH

Thank you Jamie for a great receipe...I found it really easy to cook and also the fact that two 5 year old and two 11 year olds could not get enough....thanks once again we all had a fab night in with some very good food

yum

Really tasty dish!
I bought a massive paella dish in Spain and this recipe woz perfect made it in.
I added red peppers (when the stock went in) and left out the chorizo. Yummy!

I am french and we have to be objective, and no one of you are. jamie oliver just doesn´t know how to cook, but anyone in england who put chilli,oregano, parmesan cheese and albahaca on the food is the best chef on the world. it's laughing that the only piece of food is known outside england is the roast beef, the full of fat fish and chips and the desgusting huggis, every meal you make is with unhealthy butter, you just have the worst food in the world.
jamie oliver meals are based in the most simple cuisine in the word: the italian ( although is healthy)he cooks with lots of species, hot sauces that kills every single flavor and taste of the dish, fish , meat or whatever. one chef that bases his cook in italian cuisine it's a fake.
for ignorants:
5 of the best first ten restaurants in the world are spanish. the best one in the world is spanish and it´s named bulli
3 of the best are french. so, read a little bit and learn how to eat.

for the one that says that a paella is spanish dustbin in a pan I would say that needs to go to a professional doctor to watch seriously his unflavor and rabbage tongue. baby your tongue is made just to eat rats.

Fellas,

this recipe is for Payela, a British concoction that has some Spanish elements in it, such as chorizo. The only similarity with the valencian dish called paella (pronounced PA-EH-JAH) is that both contain rice and that the name sounds vaguely similar.

Best

JJBoulas

Enjoyed your paellla inspired recipe. It is great that one doesn't have to add 1 cup of water at a time and wait for it to get absorbed. I used the basic principles of rice to stock ratio and adapted/substituted the other ingredients e.g. some wine.

Regarding the comments, it's obvious some people haven't read all the comments. There is a lot of repetition.

First of all, I'm spanish and from valencia and i've never seen a paella like this one. BUT, don't get ungry fans from other parts of the world, that doesn't mean it isn't good it's just information for those of you who might be interested. There are lots of different paella and the name is usually different for each one. For example: the "senyoret" one is cooked mainly with seafood, "a banda" is cooked with fish but we served first the fish with allioli sauce and as a second dish the rice, "conill i cargols" is done with vegetables, rabbit and snails, etc. What WE named currently as paella is cooked with vegetables (artchicoves, pepper, garlick, green beans...) and meat (chicken, rabbit and duck).
I think there is nothing wrong in adapting recipes (i love the way jamie does it) but i also think that it is good to let know the traditional way too.

I think you are all being sillysillysilly, its a recipe that he has chose to adapt. get the hell over it, and move along. You are all taking this too literal.
So what if he's changed the recipe a little? its still going to taste great.

is it ok to use aborio rice? would that affect the overall taste?
just dont want to waste that half box of aborio after last week's rissotto practice.

I think some people here are being most unkind.
OK so it may not be an authentic Paella, so what, this sounds lovely i and i will be definitely making it.
It may be a bit different, but instead of complaining why not just give it a go, you never know you may just like it and actually put a smile on your face.
Thanks Jamie for yet another lovely looking recipe, i cant wait to try it this weekend:O)

what do saffron does on our food?does it just give fragrance? will make it a difference if i will use something else to give the rice a color???thanks

Jamie, just cooked this Paella - it was fantastic! I also added a couple of torn shiitake mushrooms and a red chili for an extra kick.

To everyone else complaining - where - on this page does it say Spanish or even Traditional?

Cooking is about making a dish your own and this does it perfectly! Food would get quite boring if you didnt experiment! This is Jamie's interpretation of Paella so stop complaining and cook this recipe, you'll love it!

I would put Paella under the Risotto (rice) category. Nothing to do with pasta or pizza :-)

The essence of Paella is a rice dish flavored with anything savoury, chicken, seafood , meats, chorizo, salchichon etc. There is no definitive Paella, Peter, Valencia, Spain.

paella is the contents of a spanish dustbin put into a pan

I've eaten paella in several parts of Spain, it has sometimes had bacon and chorizo in. Just because it's not a carbon copy of an ancient original recipe does not mean it isn't good. If you don’t want to eat it then don't but keep your comments to yourself. Where exactly does the recipe say 'Authentic Valencia Paella'???

I'll be trying this tonight, it sounds great :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella

I hold out some sympathy toward the Spanish people who have posted here - there is an original Paella, however, I'm sure there's an original Ragu sauce too, but that doesn't stop it being one of the most popular Italian dishes with a remarkable amount of variations.

I suppose if a Spanish cook put choritzo or bacon into a Lancashire Hot Pot, the British would we be offended.

Interesting...

Why does you have to work a risotto but leave a paella?

I've been to Spain numerous times and had Paella with Bacon, with chorizo, and without (more often than not WITH CHORIZO!!). It depends where in spain, and who cooks it, as to what it contains. Various regions/families have different styles ! To say it's not Paella because it contains something which you haven't tried it with before is ignorant. It's like saying a tuna sandwich isn't a sandwich because it doesn't have pickle or cheese in it !!
Stop moaning and get cooking !! (with or without Chorizo)

these aguaments are pathetic! have any of you made the dish? it's f*cking awesome! go to la tasca and they serve sausage (with chorizo huh!), fish or mixed paella! get a life the lot of you!

There are heaps of paella. The criticisms below are silly and are disregarding the way in which English is used in the title of the recipe. End of story.

Dear Jamie, I like how you cook.
But I have to say that call to this dish Paella is a sin!! Why in the name of paella people makes this things?? Why don´t you call this dish Rice with bla bla bla? To call this dish paella is like if I say that risotto is paella...

Jamie, I am from Valencia, and I must say that we dont add neither paprika nor chorizo, peas, bacon.... jamais!
Paella is made from rabbit and chicken, and a kind of bean called Garrofon and green beans (not the rounded but the plains ones)....
And the most important for me is what we called el socarraet, it is a fine layer of rice, crispy and delicious, so we dont put a lot of rice in the paella...
but anyway I dont doubt about your recipe.... I am sure it was awesome as well...
And despite of many touristic places mix the meat and the seafood (even here in Valencia), the original way, my grandma way is not mixing those ingredients...
thanks for ur advices!

Spains would never ever add chorizo or bacon to their Paellas. That's like insanity and if you ever suggest people would laugh at the sole idea like you've gone out of your mind and its the kind of thing that would make every1 wonder if you're actually right in the head lol

It is okay if you want to try new things and explore, but that's not a paella, or as someone else said... I can pour baken beans to my cafe latte, but.. call it an english breakfast? no, I cant. Well, I can, but im not saying what goes...

The word Spanish is used worldwide for South America as well as for Spain, and truth is that we, despite of loving each other hugely and sharing some bits of language, have nothing in common in what comes to food, Spain does NOT like spicy flavors or hot sauces. We are fully mediterranean and will always go for a subtle fragant flavor rather than a spicy hot food. What you would call paella there has nothing to do with a Spanish paella as it's been known in Spain thru the years.

We are not the "Europe-mexicans", we're more like the "Italian-spanish-speakers". That's how it feels here and I think that's a concept you have mistaken. Other than that I buy every single book that goes out in here and I just love how you treat food and how you cook anything. But Paella, well, leave it for us...I'd invite to come to Spain when you're feeling like you're so out of it and so you get to know us and our foods better. Watching "Spain...On the Road Again" with Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow may help getting to know us better...It really seems like you've got a total wrong concept of us...

Thanks for listening and even if I sounded grumpy, Im just trying to keep things straight!

p.s. I dont think you can find Dog anywhere in Europe. I've traveled up and down all over Spain and never been offered dog...and if I ever do I will report this to Health Department and Im sure they will never see the light of day again..that's just as insane as if I said I went to Uk and got offered gorilla for meal...wtf

This is the first time I cooked Paella and it was really tasty. The only thing I felt was that the smoked paprika was a bit over-powering, think I put too heaped a teaspoon in, but all in all, it was great.

Thanks

I must say what I love about Jamie's recipes is that he experiments with tastes and traditional recipes to bring a slight twist, to get us interested in home cooking, to spark the enthuasm & get us eating healthier & trying new foods.

I for one think that the fact that Jamies paella has no mention of being spanish, although adapted from a well known ancient recipe from Spain, shouldn't be taken as an insult, it could be argued your ancestors would be offended that you had shunned their recipes in search of ones on the internet! Jamie keep on doing what you do best, you have made a huge difference to Britain, as well as getting our kids eating healthy school dinners, well done!

hey ho! they are not haters, they are just Spanish and know well that to achieve the right texture and flavors of this traditional dish that everyone loves, you just cant add chorizo and bacon! that's just too greasy and would damage the flavor of the original Paella...
Other than that, it sounds yummy, but yes, I would suggest to change the name for something like, South American Paella? Someone from Colombia said it was the way you cook it over there? I am Spanish and just have tried the Spanish recipe.

And where the heck did someone here ate DOG in a Paella???

Hey Jamie,
Just thought I`d drop you a line to tell you how absolutely gorgeous your paella is!
I lived in Spain a while ago and its bringing back some v.good memories, thanx and keep up all your hard work, we luv ya!!!!

Hi Jamie. Me and my Family are a great fans of you, here in Spain. We watch your show every day and we have two or your books, all of your books that are sold in Spain. I enjoy a lot about your recipes, but I must say a comment of this paella. The traditional paella of Valencia has rice, chicken, rabbitt, green beans, garrafons. But I think that there are different adaptions of the traditional paella and it seems so good. The real name of Paella comes from the characteristic and unusual pan where we do this recipe, because its name is called "PAELLA".

Please, I hope you continue cookin' as you do, because you inspire a lot of young people like me to enjoy cooking and to enjoy the country, the ingredients and the food.

Best wishes. Toni

Hi man!!

I'm Spanish. I'm from Seville, I love cooking and, most of all, I love the way you cook. That's it. The first time I heard about japanese food I said "Oh my God! non-cooked fish!! But when I tried it, I couldn't stop eating. What I mean is that sometimes we usually critic things without been tasted. I also made "Paella" at home, Paella is not only from Valencian People but a national dish, I made my own Paella, the same as every home in Spain. You said in your recipe "Paella" not "Valencian Paella". Don't change, keep creating, and please, keep loving food the way you do. Love. Mayte

To all those who want to whinge, if you don't like it or don't like Jamie just move on. To those who think they know more than him, Jamie is one of the most successful and well known people in the world - who are you?

Hi I am spanish and this Paella of yours is not a Spanish Paella, specially with the bacon, that's better if you call it another name, because you are changing the ingredients of the original Paella.
Paella and rice from the original one to the seafood one, but nothing to do with this!!
Paella rice is call Calasparra o Bomba and are the varieties of rice that you find in the Spanish region of Valencia where the Paella is from.

hi jamie im trying ur paella this weekend really looking forward to it but i only like chicken hope its tastes ok finding it really hard to decide wat to cook got so much to choose from on your web site its great caz xx

never mind about those idiots jamie. this looks like a brill recipe. im going to have a crack at it tomorrow. valentines day!!!! will let you know how i get on pal!

Keep up the good work Jamie. Delicious.... these stubborn idiots who are protesting it isn't "real" spanish cooking are missing the point. You are inventing and re-inventing food rather than copying recipes from others. Traditional isn't always a good thing. I've had paella many times.. this recipe and ones like it i find one of the best. Spanish food is pretty standard anyway i find but you've managed to make one of its flagship bland staples into a wonderful tasting meal.

cheers!

Hi,I agree maybe this is not the original paella but I find it is very interesing,whay not?Originality and creativity make a good chef.Congratulatione Jamie and to make everyone happy call this" paella alla Jamie."

I'm Spanish, Valencian (the original city of Paella), and I agree all Paella adaptations. It's true that the original Paella its called "Valencian Paella", and the main ingredients are rice, chicken and green beans. But in many region of Spain you can taste many different Paellas.

Call this Jamie's recipe as "Paella" is so basic. It's just like if you say only "Pizza" or "Sandwich". I suggest to change this recipe's name from "Paella" to "Chorizo Paella" or something.

Looks delicious... :)

This looks delicious, a fine adaption of a great classic! Yum Yum.

To all the complainers .....GET A GRIP! If you do not like Jamie's recipie then don't use it...for the rest of us who do not have our heads up our rear ends, Bon appetite!

Jaime I´m sorry but this is not a real paella, this is just rice with things. Real paella is from my city Valencia and the ingredients are differents. If you have to go to Napoli to eat the authentic and original pizza. You have to come to Valencia to know and to eat the authentic and real paella. I invite you to eat it at my home.

Please be acurate when talk about paella.

I know Paella is a Spanish Dish, I am Colombian, and this is how we cook paella, same ingredients as Jamie, maybe he learnt it from a South American Cheff.
The chorizo gives it a lovely flavour, it is quite nice, as well as the onions, this recipe is really yummy!!

PS. we don't use bacon, never bacon!!

Dear Mr. Chef,

You have no idea about making paella or any spanish food, you are saying things that are not true about the food in my country. You are a phamton not a chef.gordon

Jamie eres el mejor chef que nunca he visto.Me encantas eres genial....

Jamie oliver is a tv cook and not really a real one... although he learnt his trade working in an italian restraunt which clearly can be seen in his cooking... not all dishes require an italian influence or an adapted english/Italian style.

The above dish is not a Paella it is Try-ella which for me comes very short of what is required for my authentic taste buds.

These kind of recepies might be usefull for unskilled and quite frankly lazy dinner ladies but for me I need a dish that gives me a little bit more for my enjoyment.

Jamie, I have to agree with my Spanish fellas... you are an amazing, talented chef, but this has nothing to do with paella. If you want, I could send you the original recipe, since it comes from Valencia and that's where I come from... but then you would have to mention me on your next book ;) just kidding.
Anyway, I can't wait to try all your dishes. Even this one sound delicious, but you should never dare to call it paella. Chorizo and Bacon are, of course, forbidden.

Philippa - I don't know where you ate, but I seriously doubt you had dog in Spain. And yes, part of the fun of cooking is to adapt the recipes, but there are sacred ones like this one that define the culture of a country which should not really be altered. Chicken and rabbit are the only two types of meat paella ever had (although it is said that it was originally made with rats).

Other than that, great page and great ideas. You've saved me many times already ;)

Philippa, I don´t know in what kind of places you´ve eaten if you've had dog in Spain! Are you sure it wasn´t rabbit?? I´ve lived in Spain for more than 7 years and the only place I can think of where they´d serve dog is the crappy-looking Chinese restaurant around the corner where I would never ever enter. :)

I must admit that I agree with Jordi and Juan, paella with chorizo and bacon sounds VERY strange to anyone who has lived in Spain and interacted with Spanish people in any way. Seafood, pork, chicken, yes... But nothing as heavy and greasy as chorizo. Chorizo and bacon would be used in a stew with beans or chickpeas but never ever in a paella, it goes completely against the idea of paella that any Spanish person would have, the taste is too strong and the texture too greasy. If I put this recipe on a poster in the street you'll hear outraged Spanish housewives screaming all the way to the UK.

Of course anyone is free to be creative and I´m not saying this won't taste good, but it should be clear that this is by no means an authentic Spanish paella. It's a bit as if we start pouring baked beans on everything and call it British cuisine. :)

Jamie, i'm a big fan of yours, but every time i see you doing something ''spanish'' i feel like i want to jump out the window.
1-This is not paella. Paella has the ingredients that Jordi Puig just said, nothing more and nothing less, and totally different way of cooking. Unless it is fish paella (in this case only with seafood, no meat). Neeever ever onion. The same applies for the Spanish tortilla.... it has a way to be cooked and determinate ingredients (eggs, potato, onion) and it can not be changed.
2-Not anything that has chorizo in it can be called ''Spanish'' (cause this seem to be the way it works for you!!). In fact we rarely eat chorizo, at least where i come from, not more than once or twice a month, and only in fabadas or sandwiches.
Please jamie, respect spanish food as you do with italian food!! If not, spanish will never respect you ;)

Hey, Jordi - Calm down there mate!
First of all, half the fun of cooking is ADAPTING a recipe to your own tastes and environment. Chorizo has the benefit of being a little bit different, but still easy to find in most supermarkets these days, and is an excellent addition to a simple introduction to Spanish cuisine.
Secondly, I've spent a lot of time in Spain, and I've eaten paella with everything in it, ranging from the finest fresh seafood to what I'm quite sure was dog. Don't be a snob!