Want to whip up an easy and impressive entrée? Give this seafood paella recipe a go! It requires minimal preparation and effort and comes together in under an hour.
Cook with good ingredients, like Bomba rice and fresh seafood, and you can’t go wrong. I used arroz de Calasparra and prawns, clams and mussels purchased at the Marin Country Mart Farmers’ Market, and the finished dish was delicious.
But feel free to get creative! Sub in lobster tails, scallops or squid (cut crosswise into rings), if you so desire. You can even serve the seafood paella with romesco sauce to add a little extra flavor.
Whether you’re entertaining a date or a party of eight, seafood paella will satisfy any food lover.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine.
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 15 oz. can clam stock
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced (see notes)
- 2¼ cups Bomba rice
- 6 ounces cooked Spanish chorizo, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into ¼"-thick pieces
- 6-8 large head-on, shell-on prawns
- 1 pound clams, scrubbed and rinsed
- ½ pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded and rinsed
- ⅓ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- In a medium sauce pan, bring chicken broth, clam stock and saffron to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a paella or large shallow fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and smoked paprika and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.
- Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Then add broth mixture; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, without stirring, until the liquid has reduced by half, about 15 minutes; rotate pan every 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low. Scatter the chorizo and prawns over the rice. Nestle the clams and mussels, hinge side down, between the prawns. Simmer, without stirring, until the liquid is absorbed and the clams and mussels open, about 20 minutes; flip prawns halfway through.
- Scatter the peas and parsley on top. Serve immediately.
