Wow your friends and family with a traditional Spanish (or Valencian, to be more precise) seafood paella, also known as a paella de mariscos. The perfect dish for a crowd!
10strandssaffronor paella seasoning according to instructions on container
Instructions
Place the paellera on a medium flame to heat the oil.
1/3 cup oil
Sear the squid and shrimp for 1-2 minutes, but not until thoroughly cooked. Remove and set aside. Do the same with the chicken, if you're using it.
10 shrimp or prawns, 5 squids, 5 chicken legs
Toss in the mussels and clams and cook just until they open, which will be quick. Take them out and set aside. There will be some liquid in the pan, but that's no problem.
10 mussels, 8 clams
Quickly sauté the garlic until golden brown; this shouldn't take more than a minute.
5 cloves garlic
Add the grated tomato and let cook for 5 more minutes.
2 cups grated tomato
Add the rice and paprika powder, (plus the paella seasoning if you're using it instead of saffron). Stir to coat the rice and sauté for around a minute.
1.5 tablespoons sweet paprika, 3 cups arroz bomba
Turn down the heat (or move the paellera to a cooler part of the fire). Add the stock and then the saffron. Stir once.
10 cups fish or shrimp stock, 10 strands saffron
Leave the rice to simmer in the broth for around 20 minutes before giving the broth a taste. Adjust the salt if need be, but without stirring. It's normal for the rice to brown at the edges of the pan, and with a bit of luck, the same will happen on the bottom: your delicious socarrat.
Now, how much longer it will take the rice to absorb the broth and be done will depend on your cooking method. You can give it a taste every five minutes until it reaches "al dente" consistency (ever so slightly undercooked, but almost done). If the broth is gone but the rice isn't cooked yet, add some water.
Once you feel the rice is almost done, add the mussels and clams, plus the seared squid and shrimp. Just lay it all on top, don't stir.
10 mussels, 5 squids, 8 clams, 10 shrimp or prawns
When the rice is fully done, take the paellara off the fire and cover the whole thing with kitchen paper or kitchen towel for at least five minutes.
Serve! We usually use a slotted spoon for this. You may have to scratch the bottom of the pan a bit, as the socarrat will stick. Don't forget to place an extra plate in the middle for everyone to dump their shrimp and mussel shells.
Notes
If you enjoy all types of Mexican food, check out this category of ALL Mexican recipes, where you will find over 40 Mexican recipes, from casual, to low carb, to fancy.**Want more like this? Subscribe to ourSunday newsletterto get recipes, gardening guides and diet help. Let’s go from Inspiration to Done!