Yield: 8 servings
Seafood Paella
This seafood paella recipe is an effortless version of Spain's national rice dish! Each bite is filled with traditional flavors, juicy seafood and tender rice infused with saffron. The bottom layer of crispy toasted rice, called socarrat, may just be the best part! There are MANY variations to Paella. Please be respectful that my recipe may be different from yours!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
- 1 large pinch of saffron, crushed
- 1 ½ teaspoons seafood bouillon, divided
- 3 cups seafood stock, or vegetable stock
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups Bomba rice, check below for more options
- 12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 12 mussels, rinsed and scrubbed
- 8 oz raw or cooked octopus or squid, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 lemon wedges, for serving
- 1 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional garnish
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Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a paella pan, or an extra large skillet (read notes below for help choosing a pan). Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper and sauté for 4 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the paprika, saffron, bouillon, stock and white wine. Bring to a low boil.
- Stir in the rice and simmer for 15 minutes. You want a crusty layer of rice to form on the bottom of the pan, called socarrat to form, so avoid stirring too much. Only stir a few times max, as needed.
- Nestle the shrimp, mussels, octopus and peas in with the rice and place the lid offset on top of the pan. (This will help hold the heat in, but allow the steam to escape so you don’t end up with mushy paella!) Continue cooking for 10 minutes, or just until the shrimp turns pink.
- Remove the lid and turn the heat to high for 1 minute (to help crisp the socarrat). Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then serve with a lemon wedge and sprinkle of fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
Store: Place cooled paella in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Don’t store it longer, as it has lots of seafood with different spoilage timelines.
Freeze: Transfer it to a freezer-friendly container. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating. Don’t reheat from frozen!
Reheat: Place paella in a pan with a little oil over medium-high heat. Cook with the lid on for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. You can also microwave it in 30-second intervals until warm
Paella Pan: Paella is traditionally cooked in a large paella pan to allow the rice to cook more evenly. However, any large (12 inches at minimum) round skillet with shallow sides will work! Do not use a skillet like a wok, you want a flat even surface.
Paella Rice: Spanish paella Bomba rice is best, but Calasparra rice or arborio rice will work too. You want to use a short-grain or medium-grain rice. Do not use a long-grain rice.
Don’t Rinse: Unlike most kinds of rice, don’t wash your rice for paella. You want it to be starchy to have the right texture!
Do Not Cover: Leave your pan uncovered while cooking paella. If you cover it, your rice will absorb too much of the cooking liquid and will not have the correct texture. I do place a lid on when I add the seafood, but only partially, I never fully cover the pan.
Chicken: Add chopped chicken breasts for another traditional type of paella. Add the raw chicken, cut into bite size pieces, with the vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes before continuing with the recipe.
Chorizo: This is sliced chorizo sausage, not ground Mexican chorizo! You can add this when you would add the seafood as it’s already dried and cured.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 323kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.003g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 1169mg, Potassium: 289mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 662IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 4mg