Seafood paella

Recipe for the most beautiful Spanish seafood Paella!

Here at Elenas, we are very happy with the wonderful Spanish rice dish Paella, and we would like to share that joy with you!

Paella is one of those dishes that can seem quite difficult to make, but in reality it's actually super easy! All you need is a little time and a good deal of patience, and your own homemade Spanish Paella is easy at home!

Paella comes in a few different versions, and originally comes from the city of Valencia in Andalusia. Here you make a version with meat and green beans, and typically it is a form of white meat such as rabbit, chicken or pork.

Elsewhere in Spain, people like to make a Paella de marisco or Paella mixta, which are respectively only seafood or a mix of meat and seafood. You can even make vegetarian Paella too!

In this recipe we will teach you how to make a Paella de marisco, as it is my personal favorite! Besides that, the presentation at the end is really beautiful, with the beautiful whole prawns and the deep blue shells from the blue mussels. Bon appetite!

How to get started:

For this recipe you need a Paella pan. Here we can recommend our fine Paella kit that you will find on our website, as it contains most of what you need to get started!

Here you get both the right paella pan, a portion of Bomba rice, 3 letters of spice mixture and a little olive oil to fry in. The only thing you need is the fish and the stock!

You can choose to make a fish stock yourself on the shrimp shells, or you can buy the ready-made Paella stock from Don Simon, which is also available in our large Spanish range on the webshop!

It is important to use Bomba rice or other types of similar round rice such as Risotto rice (typically the Italian Arborio rice), as otherwise you will not achieve the right consistency in the end. Long grain rice such as Jasmine or Basmati rice does not work as they will stick together, and then they are far too aromatic and will therefore give the wrong taste in the end result.

If you already have a Paella pan, you will of course also find separate bags of Bomba rice, olive oil and spice mixes on our webshop!

Ingredients (approx. 4 people) :

• 300g Bomba rice
• 1 small glass of white wine
• 1 liter Don Simon Paella stock (or homemade fish stock)
• 1 letter Paella seasoning
• 8 large prawns (or lobsters)
• 8 (or more) large, beautiful blue mussels
• 2-300g squid (preferably the sepia type, but even squid rings without breading will work. They are typically found frozen, but you can also omit this ingredient)
• Half a green pepper
• A small onion
• A large tomato
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Salt
• Olive oil for frying

Finally, sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley and serve with plenty of lemon wedges. And preferably an ice-cold beer or good Spanish white wine. Cheers!

Course of action:

• Chop the pepper and onion, and grate the tomato roughly on a grater into a bowl. Finely chop the garlic and set aside, as it will be added later. You can optionally put the garlic down with the tomato in the bowl, as they must be on the pan at the same time.

• The mussels are rinsed thoroughly and checked for any impurities and broken shells. Scrub them with a small crumpled piece of silver paper, this works great for sanding dirt off the shells. If they have "beards", i.e. seaweed stuck to the shell, these are easily pulled out with a butter knife against the thumb.

• The prawns or lobsters are also checked for impurities, and you can choose to serve them all whole or just a few pieces for garnish, and then peel off the shells and remove the intestines. You can of course also peel them all together, but it looks most authentic if you decorate with a few whole prawns at the end. It gives a wow experience when the dish is put on the table!

• If you have bought a whole fresh squid from the fishmonger, clean it and cut it into bite-sized pieces. If you have bought cuttlefish rings frozen, these simply need to be thawed!

• Heat the paella base in a small pot or saucepan. It should not boil, but it is important that it is hot when it is poured into the pan, so that it does not stop the cooking process.

• Place the paella pan on the stove and add plenty of olive oil for frying. First, the squid is seared for a few minutes, and then onions and peppers are added. Fry everything until the onions are translucent. Then add the chopped garlic and the grated tomato, which are fried for 30 seconds. The garlic should not take colour, and it is important that it does not burn!

• Now pour in the white wine and let it stand for a moment so that the alcohol can evaporate. Then stir around and scrape the bottom of the pan, so you can get all the wonderful flavor from the roasting! The spice mixture is also added now and it is all stirred well.

• The bomba rice is now added to the pan, feel free to add a little extra olive oil if necessary. The rice is fried for 3-4 minutes while stirring, this way they get a wonderful nutty flavor and take less time to cook.

• Now the rice is spread in an even layer on the pan, and the warm Paella stock is poured almost to the edge. From now on, DO NOT touch it! This may seem instinctively wrong, but this is how you achieve separate, loose rice and not a squishy, ​​sticky result. Besides that, this is essential to be able to make a good Soccorat , which is a crunchy, flavorful layer at the bottom. Many Spaniards think it is the best of all Paella!

• When the first amount of stock is almost cooked, you can take a fork and just taste a little of the rice. Once they are cooked, continue to the next step. If not, you just add more stock, let it simmer and taste again until they are done. It is important that there is a little bit of moisture left in the pan for the next step, so that the shellfish can be steamed.

• Now you can arrange the beautiful shellfish on top of the rice! Lay your prawns first in a nice pattern, and then you can wiggle the mussels down wherever there is room. The entire pan is covered with silver foil and the flame is turned down a little. Now steam the dish for a few minutes until the mussels have opened and the prawns have changed color from gray to pink. When the liquid has evaporated, you just let it stand for a few more minutes, this way you get crispy Soccorat at the bottom!

• Finally, the flame is turned off, and the whole dish must simmer for 5-10 minutes.

• Then your paella is ready to serve! The dish is served directly in the Paella pan, and your beautiful seafood Paella is now sprinkled with chopped parsley and served with fresh lemon. Wow a meal!

As you may be able to sense, Paella is not that difficult to make and you will surely impress your family or guests with this heavenly dish!

You can also choose to make your Paella outdoors on the grill in the summer, this gives your Paella even more fantastic, authentic taste!

Just make sure that the Paella pan you use is suitable for the grill. As a compliment to your delicious grilled Paella, it is highly recommended to serve a large jug of ice-cold, homemade Sangria!

In Spain, Paella is often eaten at the big Sunday family lunches, and now you are also well dressed to host your own.

Buen provecho y saludos de Elenas!

How do I achieve the authentic taste of paella?

Use quality ingredients such as Bomba rice, saffron and extra virgin olive oil and follow traditional paella cooking methods for the authentic taste.

What regional varieties of paella are there in Spain?

There are several regional varieties of paella in Spain, including Valencia's traditional paella with rabbit and green beans, paella with seafood from coastal areas, and much more that adapts to local ingredients and traditions.

What is paella?

Paella is a Spanish rice dish, known for its unique taste and texture, often containing ingredients such as saffron, chicken, seafood or vegetables.

How do I make a basic paella?

Start by frying rice in a paella pan with saffron and broth, then add ingredients such as chicken or seafood and simmer until the rice is cooked and forms a socarrat (crispy bottom).