Paella with Seafood

Paella is the national dish of Spain. It's a delicious rice dish that can be filled with your choice of meat, seafood or vegetables.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: Paella with Seafood

Author: Cinde Little

In a small frying pan toast the saffron until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat and cool.
In a saucepan combine clam juice and chicken stock, bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside. Crush toasted saffron onto the clam juice and chicken stock. Set aside to infuse while preparing paella.

Set pan over medium-low heat. Add the oil. When hot add the onion, stirring occasionally until it softens and darkens slightly, 4-5 minutes.
Halve the tomatoes and grate in large holes of a box grater (should be about 1¼ cups juicy tomato pulp).
Stir in the tomato pulp, chopped and whole garlic, paprika and salt. Gently cook the mixture in the center of the pan stirring frequently, until it becomes dark red and thick, 15-20 minutes. Turn the pan often to ensure even cooking. If it starts to stick, deglaze by adding a little water and scraping the pan.

When the sofrito is done, add the rice to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring to combine, 1-2 minutes. Spread the rice evenly in the pan. Increase the heat to high and slowly pour the clam/chicken broth over the rice being careful to leave the rice in an even layer. From this point on, do not stir the rice. Bring to a boil and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, moving the pan as needed so it bubbles all the way to the edges. Simmer vigorously until the rice appears at the level of the broth, about 8 minutes.

Evenly arrange the shrimp and mussels in the pan, pushing them into the rice. Lower the heat so the broth maintains a moderate simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until shrimp is pink, scallops are cooked and mussels are opened.
Add the peas.
Continue simmering until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm (taste a few grains on the top layer), about 5 more minutes. The rice needs to simmer for about 18 minutes total. Taste to ensure the rice is cooked and adjust seasoning to taste.
If at any point the broth seems to be evaporating too quickly, reduce the heat slightly, cover loosely with sheets of foil, or add a little more broth or water, ¼ cup at a time as needed.