Finding good authentic Spanish Paella in restaurants is tough, so I usually just make it myself! My Dad’s recipe (he goes by “Diego”) from when we used to live in Spain. ¡Espero que te guste!
Ingredients:
1-2 cups of white rice, depending on if you are feeding 3 or more (short-grain is more traditional but long-grain is good too)
4 cups shrimp broth prepared ahead of time by simmering shrimp with or without shells, a teaspoon each of tumeric, saffron sprigs, and coriander powder and a 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika — alternatively, you can use 4 cups chicken broth if you are short on time.
1/2 lb. of squid, rinsed and sliced
1/2 lb. shrimp or prawns, rinsed and peeled (you can use the shells to make broth)
1 handful of clams and mussels, rinsed
1 onion, diced (yellow onion is more traditional but you can use any you have on hand)
1 medium tomato, diced or a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 a red pepper, diced
1/2 a green pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic or 2 teaspoons minced garlic or 1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon saffron
3 tablespoons cooking oil (I use avocado oil but you can use any except coconut or peanut)
8 tablespoons (or 1 stick) of salted butter
Optional: 1/4 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay, rice wine, etc)
A handful of fresh chopped parsley to garnish before serving
Slices of lemon and/or lime to squeeze on top before serving
Pepper to taste (no added salt in this recipe because salt will come from butter and naturally occurring in seafood)
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425º Farenheit.
- In a Paella pan or cast iron skillet put in the oil, then on medium-high heat, sauté the garlic until fragrant (garlic will easily burn so be watchful).
- Add onions and peppers and let them brown slightly then add tomatoes and squid. You will see liquid from the squid seep into the pan which is what you want. Add the cooking wine as well if you prefer.
- Add rice then stir to mix everything, then add broth. Stir well.
- Add saffron and boil for about 3-5 minutes, depending on how much the liquid is bubbling (more bubbling = 3 minutes, less bubbling = more time up to 5 minutes).
- Turn heat off and put the cast iron pan into the oven. Set your timer for it the bake for 45 minutes if using a gas oven, 30 minutes for electric oven.
- Remove Paella from oven and garnish with fresh chopped parsley and citrus juice. Enjoy!