Perfect for family dinners or a seafood extravaganza, this Spanish paella is a crowd-pleaser. You can include many variations of seafood in your recipe, such as mussels, clams and shrimp
Originally, paella was a dish that only farmers and laborers in Valencia made and ate. It was a combination of rice and any scraps of food that were available at the time.
The base ingredients for a paella recipe often included tomatoes, onions, and beans. For special occasions, chicken and saffron were added for additional color and flavor. This evolved to include seafood as Valencia is situated on the coast.
Traditionally, paella is consumed in a social setting, where families congregate to eat together from one dish.
This simple seafood paella recipe will be the centerpiece of your table, making it a sociable and enjoyable meal to share.
And – it’s as easy as anything!
Yield: 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pack thawed PanaPesca Seafood Mix or any PanaPesca Seafood Blend
- Thaw in refrigerator overnight or in tap water for about an hour before cooking
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup short grain Spanish rice
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock, or other stock of your choice
- 4 oz sliced cooked spicy sausage or chorizo (about 3/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup green peas (if desired)
- Pinch saffron strands
- Ground black pepper
Procedure
- Heat the olive oil in a wide bottom pan that can be covered.
- Add the onions, season with black pepper and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and coat in the oil from the sauté.
- Add the stock, sausage, tomatoes and the saffron.
- Bring to a simmer, stir and cover then cook for 20-30 minutes.
- When most or all of the stock is absorbed add the Paella Mix pack scattered on the top of the rice (it is good to cut the squid tentacles into a few pieces for final presentation then cook) also add the peas at this point if they are part of your ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 5-10 minutes to steam the seafood.
- Portion and serve with lemon wedges if desired.
I like the fact that you publicized a little bit of history on this recipe,as a chef myself that’s how I like to explain my recipes, I like to do lots of contemporary dishes but I also love to know the traditions and origins of food so thank you for this one…..
I am new at cooking seafood (we live in Arizona, so it’s not exactly a regular thing.) What are the very basic instructions for cooking a package of mixed seafood (with calamari rings, shrimp, etc.)???? Looking for a BEGINNER’S instruction, such as “boil for 10 minutes.” This desert rat needs some pointers! Thank you!!! Holly in Glendale, AZ.
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