SEAFOOD PAELLA
Serves 6. Ready in 1-2 hours.
Seafood paella served with fresh lemon and chopped parsley
Paella has been something of a weekend ritual in our house for years! I’m not saying I’m not down for a Sunday roast or casserole but you know when you just need something different? Well, paella is exactly the slow cooked wonder that I crave in those moments!
Seafood paella will always be my favourite. Served with a zesty burst of fresh lemon juice and a delicate sprinkle of chopped parsley, it’s the ultimate taste of Spain for me.
If you’re new to the paella game and don’t have a paella pan, don’t worry, you can use other large frying pans or saucepans for this but ideally, you want a large paella pan to unlock the best flavour from this dish.
INGREDIENTS
500g paella rice
350g raw mixed seafood (either frozen and defrosted or fresh)
260g raw prawns in shells (either frozen and defrosted or fresh)
2 onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
220g green beans, trimmed and cut in half
4 salad tomatoes, skins removed & chopped (see method below)
1.5 litres of chicken stock + extra water for topping up if needed
Pinch of saffron threads
2 Tablespoons smoked, sweet paprika (Make sure to use a good one, it makes all the difference. I’ve used La Chinata for this)
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Fresh lemon, cut into wedges, to squeeze for serving
Small handful of fresh parsley, chopped, to serve
METHOD- PEELING YOUR TOMATOES
Carefully score the skins of each of your tomatoes to make an X shape on each one. Be careful to not cut deeply into the tomato, only through the skin.
Add the tomatoes to a heatproof bowl and top with boiling water.
Leave them to soak for around 5-10 minutes until the skins have started peeling away.
Remove the tomatoes from the bowl and peel away and discard the skins.
Chop the skinless tomatoes and keep them to one side to use later.
Keep the water the tomatoes have soaked in too, you can use this to top up the paella water later if you need.
METHOD- PREP
Heat a little olive oil in your paella pan before adding in your onion and cooking until soft.
Add the green beans and garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue frying until these soften too.
Add the rice and cook for 1 minute or so to lightly toast it.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli flakes and paprika and combine well.
Then add your stock, ensure it is well combined and leave the paella to gently simmer, topping up the water where necessary.
You want to cook your seafood according to the instructions on the packaging so keep an eye on the time of your paella and continue with steps 7 onward at the time your seafood will need to start cooking. If it’s useful, I cooked my paella for around 1 hour before adding my seafood in about half an hour before it was due to be cooked. As I was cooking this on a lower heat, the seafood may take a bit longer to cook than what’s on the packaging.
When it’s time, add the mixed seafood and stir it through the paella. Leave on a low simmer and add the shell-on prawns on top of the paella when it’s their time.
Carry on cooking until the seafood and rice is completely cooked. Keep an eye on the water levels of the paella throughout the cooking process too. You don’t want it to dry out or be too wet.
When it’s almost ready, squeeze over a little lemon juice.
Then when it’s ready to serve, scatter over some freshly chopped parsley and serve with a lemon wedge. I like to keep the prawns in their shells to serve too because it looks so beautiful when it’s served and is a total crowd-pleaser.
Enjoy!