Spain · Main · Hard
Seafood Paella
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Seafood Paella, in 5 ideas
- Bomba rice is worth finding. It absorbs three times its volume without going mushy. Arborio is the backup, never long grain.
- Hot stock only. Cold stock shocks the rice and ruins the timing. Keep it at a bare simmer in a separate pot.
- The socarrat is the prize. That caramelized crispy bottom layer is what Spaniards fight over. The crackling sound tells you it is working.
- Wide pan, thin layer. Rice should be no deeper than an inch. A crowded deep pan steams instead of developing crust.
- Rest under a towel, not foil. Foil traps steam and softens the crust you worked for. A dry towel lets it breathe.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 cups bomba or arborio rice
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads
- 5 cups seafood or chicken stock, kept hot
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- Salt, to taste
How to make it
Directions
- Steep the saffron in 1/2 cup of the hot stock for 10 minutes. This blooms the color and flavor.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide paella pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the shrimp 1 minute per side, remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, soften the onion and bell pepper 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and tomatoes. Cook until thick and dark, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the rice, coating every grain in the sofrito. Pour in the hot stock and the saffron liquid. Shake the pan to level the rice. Season with salt.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Do not stir from this point on. Cook 15 minutes.
- Nestle the mussels hinge side down into the rice. Scatter the peas over the top. Cook 8 to 10 minutes more until the mussels open and the rice is tender.
- For the socarrat: raise the heat to high for the final 2 minutes. Listen for crackling. That is the bottom crust forming.
- Remove from heat, arrange the shrimp on top, cover with a clean towel, and rest 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. Discard any mussels that did not open.
Do not stir. Ever. The moment the stock goes in, put the spoon down. Stirring releases starch and you get risotto, not paella. The crust cannot form if you keep disturbing it.