Traditional Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

large shallow pan filled with seafood paella.

4.97 from 56 votes

Traditional Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Main

Cuisine: Spanish

Servings: people

Calories: 620.73kcal

Author: Lauren Aloise

Ingredients

⅓ cup olive oil
1 large onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 medium tomatoes peeled and diced
1.5 teaspoons sweet paprika such as Pimentón de la Vera (dulce)
1 pinch saffron threads
2 large squid cleaned and sliced into ¼-inch rings (tentacles not used in this dish)
2 cups short grain rice such as Bomba or Calasparra
1 cup white wine
3 cups seafood stock
12 prawns or jumbo shrimp shells on if possible for extra flavor
12 mussels

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring the white wine and seafood stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over high heat. Add a pinch of saffron threads and keep gently simmering over low heat.
Put a large, shallow frying pan (such as a 10-inch cast iron skillet or 16-inch paella) over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion to the pan and sauté until translucent, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Before it starts to brown, stir in the tomato, paprika, and a pinch of salt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are reduced and the oil is sizzling.
Gently add the squid to the pan and stir to coat in the tomato mixture. Sauté for about a minute to give some color to the squid.
Next, stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute, then spread the rice evenly across the pan. If it looks like a thin layer, don't worry; it will puff up as it absorbs the liquid.
Pour in the simmering wine mixture all at once, then reduce the heat to low, and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Carefully lay the prawns/shrimp in a circle on top of the rice and cook for a further 10 minutes, turning the shrimp over as they start to turn pink. If the rice starts to dry out before the shrimp is cooked, you can top it up with a bit more hot stock, half a cup at a time.
Meanwhile, steam the mussels. Place them in a half-inch of simmering water in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. They are cooked when the shells open; be sure to discard any that stay closed. Once the mussels are cooked, arrange them decoratively on the paella.
When the stock in the paella fully evaporates, you will hear a faint crackling from the bottom of the pan as the socarrat starts to form. If you don't hear anything, you can raise the heat to medium for a short burst.
Remove the paella from the heat and cover it with a tea towel for 3 minutes to let it rest. Uncover and serve from the pan with lemon wedges on the side.

Notes

The ideal paella rice is a short/medium grain round variety such as Bomba rice. If necessary, you can substitute Arborio. You can also order it in advance if you can!
A paella is a special shallow pan for making paella. If you don't have one, use your largest, flattest frying pan, such as a 10-inch cast iron skillet.
Substitute the seafood based on your preferences. Great options include clams, scallops, hearty white fish, and lobster.
Use homemade seafood stock when possible. While some traditional paellas are made using only water, this seafood paella will be extra special if you use good quality seafood stock. If I don't have time to make stock, I buy a good quality boxed stock.
If you can't find saffron or it is cost-prohibitive, you can use a pinch of turmeric for color or simply omit it.

Nutrition