Ina Garten Shrimp Paella

With this straightforward recipe for Ina Garten’s Shrimp Paella, you can create a flavorful and genuine paella right in your home kitchen. All you need are some basic ingredients like rice, saffron, veggies, chicken, and shellfish. This hearty dish is sure to become one of your favorites if you have a passion for preparing international cuisine.

The traditional Spanish rice dish known as paella (pronounced “pai-ee-uh”) is created with rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood, all of which are cooked and served in the same pan. Paella is often considered to be the national dish of Spain, despite the fact that it was first created in Valencia.

There are several paella recipes to choose from. Paella made with chicken, paella made with seafood, and paella made with a mix of the two is the most frequent types (a combination of seafood, meats, and vegetables).

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Rice, saffron, chicken, and veggies are the essential components of any paella meal. Paella is a Valencian cuisine. After that, the ingredients will change according to the type of paella or the location in which it is prepared. This straightforward paella recipe calls for the following ingredients:

The Mediterranean diet, of which paella is a staple, is known for its healthful qualities. This dish features grains, proteins, and healthy fats to create a well-rounded meal.

Paella is traditionally made using Spanish rice, which is also known as “bomba” rice, Calasparra rice, and Arroz Redonda. I recommend making your paella with this type of rice. It is a kind of rice with small grains that can take on more water than traditional rice without becoming mushy. You may get Spanish rice through retailers such as Amazon and World Market, as well as foreign food markets.

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Paella may be made in any standard big pan (I make it in a skillet that is 12.5 inches in diameter, and this recipe fills it up to the very top). A huge paella pan is used to prepare traditional paella because this type of pan enables the rice to be spread out into a thin layer and cooked more evenly.

Chorizo would never be included in a seafood paella that followed the traditional Shrimp Paella recipe. However, there are various variants that are made nowadays in which chorizo is included.

Although it is one of the traditional components in Shrimp Paella, the use of saffron is not required to make the dish. Today, many Spaniards will instead use food coloring, which is known as a colorant, while others may use turmeric as a replacement for the color. If you don’t use saffron, the rice won’t have that signature yellow hue, but it will still taste great.

Stir With Love

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2, 000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.When I get a little pang of nostalgia for Spain, I love taking out the pictures and revisiting those fond memories. My other favorite thing to do is reliving those moments through cooking. Food is one of those things that is just so intertwined with memories – childhood, first dates, birthdays, that one night.

How many times have you ever had a tasty bowl of beef stew or sinigang that undeniably reminded you of home at first bite? It has to be just right – not one more pinch of salt, not one less dash of pepper. Suddenly it’s like you’re 8 again, in mom’s kitchen, sitting at the table and your feet can’t quite reach the floor yet. Even for a few minutes, you can be swept back in time.

Although I haven’t even come close to re-creating the mouth-watering perfection of Antonita’s* dishes (yet), it hasn’t stopped me from trying! I found this interesting take on Paella from Ina Garten. She is one of my faaavorite Food  Network chefs, known for using fresh ingredients, many from her gorgeous garden (I want!). Her method differs from the traditional way of cooking Paella, but the end result was incredibly tasty, so no complaints here!

Ina Garten Shrimp Scampi (easy Recipe)

Step 1. Core both peppers and cut into strips. Red, green, yellow or orange, use any color pepper you’d like. I find the red and yellow to be a bit sweeter than the green.

Step 3. Dice two medium-sized yellow onions. If you’re a cry baby when it comes to chopping onions, squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top of the onions. Trust me, it works.

Step 6. In a deep pot, turn the heat to medium and pour enough olive oil to coat the surface (about 1/4 cup). When hot, slide in the onions and allow them to sweat, about 5 minutes.

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Step 7. Then, add the pepper strips to the onions and allow these to cook for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally. After 5 minutes, turn the heat to a low simmer and add the garlic. Cook for a minute or two longer.

The recipe only calls for 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, but this small tsp. packs a punch! Unless you like your food on the spicy side, I would decrease the amount. I happen to love spicy food so it didn’t matter so much to me – the spicier the better!

If you’ve never used saffron before, they are dried flowers used as natural food coloring. This is what gives paella its vibrant yellow color. It has no taste and the color intensity depends on how much you add. The more saffron, the deeper the yellow color. I know, I know it looks red here but the end result is yellow.

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P.S. if you buy this at your local grocery store they will most likely overcharge you  an overwhelming amount (ie $5 for an oz.). I recommend going to an Asian supermarket where bags of these are sold for cents, not dollars.

Step 11. Mix everything together then bring the heat up to a boil. Once it is at a boil, lower the heat back down to a simmer and cover the pot. Set the timer for about 14 minutes and allow the rice to cook. You may need 4 minutes more or less, depending on your stove.

*Ina’s recipe suggests cooking it in the oven, but I found this method to take soo much longer. I think cooking it on the stove top is just fine.

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Step 12. While the rice is cooking, do these next steps. In a separate non-stick frying pan, heat some olive oil on medium heat. Saute the shrimp and kielbasa separately then set aside.

*Ina’s recipe doesn’t include searing these two, but who doesn’t love a little bit of fried, carmelized goodness?! Additionally, my local grocer did not have lump lobster meat available *sob* and the tail meats they were selling were incredibly priced ($25 per pound, yikes!). So, I went with the next best thing, shrimp. Gotta improvise sometimes, ya know?

Step 14. When the rice is finished cooking, turn the heat off and move the pot to a different burner. Add the kielbasa and the shrimp. Mix evenly. Do not worry if there is rice sticking to the bottom of your pot. Don’t try to scrape it off now, you’ll just end up frustrated at your unsuccessful attempts. Mix the layers on top that aren’t sticking instead.

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You do this for two reasons: one, it creates a layer which protects further rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and two, you will find that once this dish cools off, the bottom layer will scrape off easily with the aid of a spatula. The steam that gathers in between the rice and the bottom of the pot creates a moisture that will eventually release the rice from its sticky hold. If you burn the rice however, that’s a different story. Keep the heat on low and your rice will turn out perfect.

The first time I tried paella, it was a quiet Sunday afternoon. It was about 3pm. The house was quiet. No one was home and I didn’t care. I had just came home from a long, crazed-filled weekend in Cadiz where they were celebrating Carnaval. The walk home from our drop-off point was merely blocks away from our apartment but my feet felt like they couldn’t carry me two steps further.

What a sight I must have been, walking down Calle Recogidas, bright green afro wig still on, mask and duffel bag in tow. I wanted to face plant into my bed and sleep until next month.  On the way back to my room after a long hot shower, I saw a note on our dining table next to a bowl of paella. No words, only a smile. I didn’t even know it yet but Antonita* totally knew just what I needed to end the day right. And it was to die for. And I’ve never tasted anything like it since.

Paella Mit Garnelen, Erbsen Und Grünem Spargel

I don’t know if it was the sheer exhaustion that made it taste perfect or perhaps it WAS perfect. I don’t care much for an explanation. But this is definitely one of those things that bring a rush of memories time and again. I know you have