Paella Main Ingredients

There is no dish more famous than this Spanish seafood paella. Fortunately, it’s easier than you might think to make this mouthwatering dish from scratch in under an hour!

If you love paella, you'll definitely want to try my recipes for black paella, vegetable paella, and prawn and chorizo paella (my mother-in-law's favorite).

Seafood

Even though this big plate of fragrant, saffron-infused rice is one of the most famous Spanish dishes, a goodpaella is often hard to find! That answer always leads to confused stares, but it’s true.

An Easy Version Of The Classic Spanish Dish Seafood Paella

. It became popular on the sunny beaches of Valencia and Barcelona with visitors from around the world. This variation of paella is packed with fresh fish, shrimp, squid, mussels, and clams, but

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

8. There are different opinions on the best method here, but I like to mix it into the sauce and cook it for a minute or so.

Grilled Paella Mixta (mixed Paella With Chicken And Seafood) Recipe

9. Add the broth mixture to the pan, and don't stir! This is key: once the broth is in, no stirring is allowed.

12. In the meantime, steam the mussels in a pot. Simmer a little water or wine, then add the closed mussels and cover. After a few minutes, the mussels will open. If any stay shut, simply discard.

13. Place the cooked mussels on the paella in a decorative way. When the rice has cooked for 18-20 minutes total, it should be done.

Veggie Paella Recipe

To get the perfect crispy bottom (socarrat), put it back on medium-high heat after the 3-minute rest. As soon as you hear crackling (some say it sounds like rain), remove it from the heat. This means you'll have a crispy

The secret ingredients in a great paella are using homemade sofrito, using real saffron instead of food coloring, and using homemade seafood stock instead of plain water to add extra flavor. There's also a special cooking technique you can use to make the perfect

My recipe for seafood paella doesn't contain fish; I prefer to use squid (calamari) instead in addition to prawns and mussels. However, you can use any type of firm fish that you'd like, such as monkfish.

Seafood Paella Recipe

How many does this recipe serve? This seafood paella recipe serves 4 people as a main dish, or 6 as a starter. You can plate in advance, or (what I prefer) is bringing the whole pan to the table and serving it family style.

). We order a paella for the table (prices are usually per person) and a bunch of tapas to eat while we wait for the rice to be prepared.

If you order a menú del día (a fixed price lunch menu) during the week, paella is usually served as the first course, with either meat or fish to follow as the main. In this case, you get a small portion of a large paella they've made in the kitchen and not a whole pan at your table.

Classic Seafood Paella Recipe

What tapas go well with paella? Typical tapas served with paella include cold soups (gazpacho or salmorejo), fried foods (croquettes or patatas bravas), or salads (ensalada mixta or ensaladilla rusa). Check out my other tapas recipes for other ideas.

Make Ahead: You can prepare the sofrito for seafood paella in advance, but I don't recommend preparing the entire paella. If not eaten immediately, it is easy for the rice to become overcooked and soft.

Reheating: Heat up leftover paella on the stove or in the microwave. I recommend taking it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before reheating, then put some olive oil in a frying pan and gently stir fry the paella until warmed through.

Spanish

Canarian Mojo Paella With Shrimps

This easy seafood paella recipe will get you a plate of rice every bit as delicious as the stuff served in tapas bars from Barcelona to Valencia! Just make sure to bring an empty stomach.

Calories: 620.73 kcal | Carbohydrates: 84.56 g | Protein: 14.35 g | Fat: 19.66 g | Saturated Fat: 2.84 g | Cholesterol: 53.38 mg | Sodium: 928.04 mg | Potassium: 452.35 mg | Fiber: 2.7 g | Sugar: 5.06 g | Vitamin A: 1297.2 IU | Vitamin C: 13.66 mg | Calcium: 81.03 mg | Iron: 2.76 mgWhat is the most authentic Spanish paella recipe? It's a controversial subject! But this classic paella valenciana recipe is the traditional chicken paella that many call the original. It combines chicken and either pork ribs or rabbit (your choice!) with green beans, butter beans, garlic, paprika, and saffron.

If you love paella, you'll definitely want to try my recipes for seafood paella, black paella, vegetable paella, and prawn and chorizo paella (my mother-in-law's favorite).

Easy Paella Recipe

Unfortunately, most paellas served across Spain are bad copies of the real thing. Their artifical neon yellow color comes from food coloring rather than saffron, and the rice is piled high to conceal the overcooked shrimp mixed in.

Most visitors to Spain think that paella is a mix of seafood and meat. While this version does exist, there are many regional variations of paella, and they feature only a few key ingredients, as the rice itself is supposed to be the star of the show. You can read more about the history of paella if you're curious.

Contrary to popular belief, the traditional version of paella from Valencia doesn't contain seafood! While the most well-known versions of the dish include shrimp and mussels, traditional

Authentic Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

Is made with chicken and rabbit (and often snails), and is spiced with sweet paprika and a few strands of golden saffron.

A mark of a good paella is thesocarrat. The slow, undisturbed simmering of the rice in broth means that the bottom layer will start to caramelize, and it’s this crispy base of rice that makes paella a taste sensation! Keep reading for tips on how to get socarrat.

Seafood

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

Easy Paella Valenciana Recipe

6. Add the butter beans. (If you're using jarred butter beans, be careful not to break them.) Gently toss the beans in the oil and garlic, then

(loosen all of the stuck bits below). Use a wooden spoon to scrape off all these flavorful bits and incorporate them into the dish.

9. Add the saffron. Make sure to infuse this in a couple tablespoons (30-45 ml) of boiling water for at least 10 minutes prior to adding.

Spanish Style Paella Recipe: How To Make It

11. Insert a toothpick (or wooden spoon handle) into the center of the pan. See the water mark on the toothpick? This is the perfect amount of liquid you'll need to cook the rice.

13. Add the other 4 cups (960 ml) of water. Boil for about 10 minutes, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. There should be 5 cups of water left in the pan (the amount needed to make rice for 4 people). Check by using your toothpick;

No matter how tempted you are! This is key to making sure the rice cooks properly and doesn't release tons of starch.

Easy Seafood Paella Recipe

15. Cook the rice on medium-high for the first 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. The exact cook time depends on the variety of rice (for reference, Bomba rice takes 20 minutes in total).

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, is forming. Once you hear this, turn the heat up for about 30 seconds, but make sure to stop and turn off the heat if you smell burning!

Then let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve the paella family-style--directly out of the pan using a wooden spoon. If you prefer to use plates, just make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan and give everyone some

Spanish Seafood Paella

Traditional Valencian paella consists mostly of short-grain rice, which the star of the dish, and a generous amount of protein, which can come from chicken, pork, rabbit, or snails. This version of paella also traditionally includes a simple

There are hundreds of different rice dishes in Spain, and many are called paella. Seafood paella is very popular, but many Valencians would argue that the dish called paella can only be traditional

A short-grain, round rice is best for paella; also a variety preferably grown in Spain. My favorite type is Senia, but it can be hard to find, so other varieties like Bomba or Calasparra are excellent choices. In a pinch, you can substitute with Arborio rice, but this will yield a different result.

Spanish Paella Recipe

Means frying pan, which is also the name for the distinctive shallow pan traditionally used for cooking this rice dish. It can be confusing because the dish (

Paella Valenciana makes the perfect weekend lunch meal. Like the hamburgers at a barbecue, it's the main event! But while waiting for it to cook, start with some tapas, like gazpacho shooters, ham croquettes, or boiled shrimp.

Make Ahead: Both the sofrito and stock can be made in advance. You can make the entire dish up to the point of adding the rice, then let it cool and

Paella

Ways To Make The Best Paella Ever

When you are ready to prepare the paella, bring the mixture to a rapid simmer and make sure any liquid that evaporates