Spicy Seafood Paella Recipe

My favorite paella recipe is loaded with lots of Spanish rice, chicken, chorizo, shrimp and more, huge on flavor, easy to make and perfect for a crowd.

We're cooking up a big pan full of comforting Spanish Paella in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen tonight, my friends! Pull up a chair and join us!

Paella originated in Valencia, though it has spread through Spain and the rest of the world, where it can vary from region to region and cook to cook.

Paella Recipe. Paella Is A Mild Spiced Rice Dish With Seafood And Chicken, With Warming Chorizo

One prized element of paella is called the socarrat, which is the crispy layer of rice that develops on the bottom of the pan during cooking. Many people enjoy it and even fight over the crispy bits.

My version is consider a Paella Mixta recipe, which is mixed paella with a combination of meats and seafood. You can easily adapt this recipe to skip the meats and focus only on the seafood, or however you'd like to enjoy it.

Either way, I think you'll find that this recipe feeds a group and is quite the crowd pleaser. Grab your paella pans, my friends, and let's get cooking!

My Mum's Paella Recipe With Chicken, Chorizo And Seafood

Bloom the Saffron. Add the pinch of saffron to a small bowl and cover with 1/4 cup water to let the saffron bloom.

Heat the Chicken Broth. Add the chicken broth to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until needed.

Cook Meats and Vegetables. While the broth is heating, heat the oil in a large skillet or pan (I use a large paella pan) to medium heat.

Gerald.ph. Buy Paella With Saffron, Spice Mix For Spanish Paella

Add the onion, peppers, chicken, and Spanish chorizo sausage. Cook for 8 minutes to soften the vegetables and cook the chicken mostly through.

Add Hot Broth. Pour in the hot chicken broth and shake the pan to distribute. Do not stir the rice, as we want it to cook evenly and develop a crispy bottom.

Simmer the Paella. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes to 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender to your preference. You may need a bit longer, depending on the heat.

Seafood Paella (1lb Servings) — Butchers Alley

Cook the Seafood. Tuck the shrimp and mussels into the top of the rice and cover - use a large lid or aluminum foil.

Cook for 5 minutes, or until the shrimp and mussels cook through, and a crispy crust forms on the bottom of the pan. This is the socarrat, which many people love.

Boom! Done! Your paella is ready to serve. Easy enough to make, isn't it? Serve it as a flavorful side dish, or make an extra batch and serve it as your main.

Spanish Paella Recipe (seafood, Chicken, & Chorizo)

Short grain rice is essential for good paella, as it absorbs liquid more easily and cooks evenly. Look for Bomba Rice, which is a short grain Spanish rice, often referred to as Valencia rice.

If you are unable to find it in the grocery store, look for a good quality short grain rice. You can use medium grain rice if you must, but definitely do not use long grain rice.

Arborio rice is often mentioned as a substitute, but arborio rice is a creamier rice ideal for risotto, so I personally would not use it.

How To Make Paella

Shrimp and mussels are ideal for a good seafood paella, though you have many options. Consider scallops, crab, flaky fish, squid or calamari, clams, or others. I've made it with crawfish and loved it.

Paella is one of those dishes that is so easy to change up to your preference, as many cooks around the world do. Feel free to add in other vegetables, such as green peas, sweet corn, spicy chilies, fresh herbs and more.

I add chicken and Spanish chorizo, but other meats are welcomed here, such as pork, duck, rabbit, or ground meats, and even tofu. You can also skip the meats and serve a seafood paella very easily.

Chicken, Chorizo And Seafood Paella

Heating your chicken broth before adding it to the rice will save you cooking time, as the broth will already be to temperature when added. It also ensures a more even cook and consistency of the rice, which is important in making a good paella.

Good rice is key. If you add cold chicken broth, you'll need extra time to heat it through, and you may encounter inconsistencies throughout the pan. I prefer to heat the broth through before adding.

When you leave the paella pan cooking on your stove top, especially over an open flame, the rice at the bottom of the pan will crisp up and darken. This is called the socarrat, and it is prized by traditional paella lovers.

Donal Skehan's Spicy Seafood Paella

Socarrat means to singe. It is very much like pegao at the bottom of a pan of Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo.

Some might consider this scorched rice at the bottom of the pan a mistake, but others love it and consider paella properly made only when the socarrat is achieved.

You can skip it if desired, or turn up the heat during the last few minutes of cooking to crisp up the bottom layer of rice. Just be careful not to burn it.

Shrimp Paella With S.pellegrino Lemon & Lemon Zest

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my favorite paella recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and how you made it your own.

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Socarrat/Crispy Rice - if you desire the socarrat (crispy rice) at the bottom of the pan but it is not crisping up, simply turn up the heat during the last few minutes of cooking and remove when crispy.

One Pot Spiced Shrimp And Rice Recipe

Calories: 611 kcal Carbohydrates: 69 g Protein: 24 g Fat: 26 g Saturated Fat: 7 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g Trans Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 64 mg Sodium: 1694 mg Potassium: 530 mg Fiber: 3 g Sugar: 5 g Vitamin A: 2416 IU Vitamin C: 45 mg Calcium: 66 mg Iron: 4 mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe? I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ on social media.Seafood Paella is an easy, delicious and flavorful seafood recipe that you can make at home. With fresh shellfish, mussels, and other seafood this meal is packed with flavor!

I used to stray away from difficult or time consuming recipes, but now I enjoy them. I think I just appreciate the different steps required in a recipe and the time it takes to make food right. And although I hate clean-up, I don’t have a problem getting out different pots and pans in order to get something just right.

Spanish Paellas: + Recipe For Paella Valenciana

My family and I love seafood dishes. Some of our favorites includeSeafood Pasta and Coconut Shrimp Curry , this Linguine with Clam sauce and more!

Seafood is a great alternative to beef and chicken, and is just as versatile. This seafood paella recipe takes some extra time to make, but the finished dish is worth it!

“Paella comes from the countryside around Valencia, where it began as a humble dish for workers in the orchards and vegetable fields. They simmered what ingredients they could find—tomatoes, beans, rabbit, snails—in a wide pan over the cuttings of orange trees before adding rice to absorb the flavors and make a filling midday meal. From there, paella drifted into villages and then cities and eventually became Spain’s national dish.

Smoky Prawn And Chorizo 'paella' Recipe

Paella is at its best cooked at home, made with traditional, shortcut-free technique and served the moment it’s ready to an appreciative crowd. Nothing in Spanish cooking compares to carrying a massive pan of golden-brown rice out to the table, or the pleasures of digging into one. And while paella has a lot of details to sweat and rules to follow, the most important is simple: There is no such thing as a version for just one person. As one aunt in the family village in rural Valencia says, “Paella is really just an excuse to gather people.” Source: Saveur.com

Paella can be made using a variety of meat, poultry, or seafood. I love this Paella Valenciana, made using chicken, and adapted a lot of his cooking tips and techniques. I highly recommend watching this YouTube video.

I do also highly recommend using a paella pan if you have one. Initially, I would use a cast iron skillet or other low, wide pan but you really do need a paella pan for this recipe and now you can purchase one from just about anywhere. The more you practice making paella, the easier it will be to make!

Chicken & Shrimp Spanish Paella

The one thing I will stress is purchasing quality ingredients (saffron and paella rice) and seafood. Spend the money and get some great, quality seafood. Fresh or frozen. It doesn’t matter. It makes all the difference!

This recipe requires some extra steps because I like to steam my mussels separately and then add them on top of the paella. It’s perfect for a family dinner or for entertaining.