Seafood Paella

50 mins

4 people

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

Seafood Paella recipe for 4 that's guaranteed to impress!

Check out our seafood paella recipe using fresh tiger prawns, monkfish, squid and mussels. This dish looks stunning and it is the perfect seafood paella recipe to feed a crowd at a dinner party. You can also vary the choice and quantities of seafood. Using lobster or langoustines for example, will make the dish extra special. There are many variations to the classic seafood paella recipe. In Catalunya, they have the tradition of including pieces of chicken, pork, rabbit, duck or sausage in their seafood paellas. In Valencia, where they claim the dish as their birthright, chef Llorenç Millo remarks that “paella has as many recipes as there are villages, and nearly as many as there are cooks". To me, an authentic seafood paella has two key ingredients, a homemade stock made with fish bones and shellfish and the freshest of Spanish seafood you can get, simple.

Ingredients
Method

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
12 raw tiger prawns, shelled (use heads and shells for stock)
150g fresh monkfish, cut into chunks
150g fresh baby squid, finely diced
150g fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100g runner beans, cut into small pieces
100g frozen peas
200g paella rice
100ml tomato sofrito sauce
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
A good pinch of saffron strands
400ml of hot shellfish stock
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Pre-heat your oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 5.
In a small frying pan, gently toast on some tin foil the saffron threads for about 30 seconds, be careful not to burn them. This will release the essential oils within the saffron threads. Pour the saffron threads into a pestle and mortar and pound them until you obtain a fine powder. Pour 2 tablespoons of the hot shellfish stock and mix well. The saffron powder will blend better into the hot liquid, so when you pour it into the paella rice, the saffron liquid will spread evenly.
In a medium size paella pan (34cm diameter) or a large shallow casserole dish, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the prawn tails and fry for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the prawns from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil and once hot, add the monkfish chunks and fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. Finally, fry the diced squid for about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until the squid starts to caramelise and brown lightly. Move the squid to one side of the pan.
Add the remaining olive oil to the paella pan and gently fry the chopped garlic and sliced runner beans for about 2 minutes. Add the paella rice and stir together with the squid for a few minutes on a gentle heat until the rice is slightly translucent. Add the smoked paprika and stir the rice for 30 seconds, followed by the tomato sofrito. Once the tomato has cooked into the rice, pour in the hot shellfish stock, followed by the saffron infused stock, monkfish and prawns. Season with salt and spread the rice out evenly to cover the bottom of the paella pan.
Bring to the boil. If you have a timer, set it to 17 minutes. The first 5 minutes, cook the paella on a very high heat until the rice rises to the surface. Check the stock for seasoning and add some more salt if necessary. Stir the rice again, add the mussels and peas and place the pan in the oven. After 12 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.
Allow the paella to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Ingredients

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
12 raw tiger prawns, shelled (use heads and shells for stock)
150g fresh monkfish, cut into chunks
150g fresh baby squid, finely diced
150g fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100g runner beans, cut into small pieces
100g frozen peas
200g paella rice
100ml tomato sofrito sauce
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
A good pinch of saffron strands
400ml of hot shellfish stock
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 5.
In a small frying pan, gently toast on some tin foil the saffron threads for about 30 seconds, be careful not to burn them. This will release the essential oils within the saffron threads. Pour the saffron threads into a pestle and mortar and pound them until you obtain a fine powder. Pour 2 tablespoons of the hot shellfish stock and mix well. The saffron powder will blend better into the hot liquid, so when you pour it into the paella rice, the saffron liquid will spread evenly.
In a medium size paella pan (34cm diameter) or a large shallow casserole dish, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the prawn tails and fry for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the prawns from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil and once hot, add the monkfish chunks and fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. Finally, fry the diced squid for about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until the squid starts to caramelise and brown lightly. Move the squid to one side of the pan.
Add the remaining olive oil to the paella pan and gently fry the chopped garlic and sliced runner beans for about 2 minutes. Add the paella rice and stir together with the squid for a few minutes on a gentle heat until the rice is slightly translucent. Add the smoked paprika and stir the rice for 30 seconds, followed by the tomato sofrito. Once the tomato has cooked into the rice, pour in the hot shellfish stock, followed by the saffron infused stock, monkfish and prawns. Season with salt and spread the rice out evenly to cover the bottom of the paella pan.
Bring to the boil. If you have a timer, set it to 17 minutes. The first 5 minutes, cook the paella on a very high heat until the rice rises to the surface. Check the stock for seasoning and add some more salt if necessary. Stir the rice again, add the mussels and peas and place the pan in the oven. After 12 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.
Allow the paella to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with lemon wedges.

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Chef's Profile

Javier De La Hormaza

Javier is a Basque born, trained chef and hospitality professional, owner of Basco Fine Foods, a Spanish food and drink importer based in Yorkshire. He regularly runs client food and drink events around the country and he is a course tutor at Hartingtons of Bakewell cookery school. Javier's passion lies on bringing quality Spanish ingredients and recipes to as many people as possible.

Twitter: @bascofinefoods
Instagram: @mrbasco