Seafood Paella

If you like the taste of the sea, a seafood paella is hard to beat. This classic dish never gets old. A seafood paella reminds me of the cooking class I took in Barcelona around this time of the year during spring break. In the early morning, we picked up the seafood from the famous La Boqueria, the open market on Las Rambles. The images of jamon, fresh produce, the scent and the sight of this bustling place are still fresh in my memory. I can hardly contain my excitement and hunger for great food just thinking about it. The next best thing is to make a seafood paella in my own kitchen.

There are a few things to consider in getting an excellent paella. Short- or medium-grain rice, a wide and shallow paella pan, even distribution of the heat source, sofrito (aromatics), the saffron-infused liquid and the socarrat (golden rice crust). I might be oversimplifying the making of this classic dish. Besides the ingredients and the technique, a great paella rests on the passionate cook. The tone of voice of our spirited and knowledgeable Spanish cooking instructor continues to echo.

A cast-iron pan is not conducive for developing crusty rice at the bottom.

Making paella is not hard, but getting an excellent one can only come with practice and patience. I made a decent seafood paella this time following Eric Ripert’s recipe. I substituted chorizo with bacon, bass fillet with a bag of frozen medley of seafood (scallop, shrimp and squid), and cockles with clams. The cooked rice, fully absorbing the flavor of the shrimps, mussels and clams, requires keen timing in cooking them. That could be a delicate dance.

In the end, I got the rich flavor and aroma of the sea I was after. However, what’s missing was the crusty rice at the bottom. A paella pan of the right size may fix that. I used two pans. A 12-inch cast-iron skillet and a stainless steel sauté pan, which effectively and evenly steamed the rice. But the lightly charred and golden crust never developed. Eric Ripert suggests using an 18-inch carbon-steel paella pan. A big paella pan would spread out all the ingredients in a single layer, thereby allowing for rapid evaporation of the cooking liquid and optimal socarrat development. That also produces a dry texture and separate firm grains.

What also grabs my attention about this recipe is Eric Ripert’s comment that paella is the combination of social interaction and great food. Having produced paella once now, I’m getting ready to make “dinner social” and serve a group of friends with this amazing dish. All I need is a paella pan. It’s an easy decision given that these pans are fairly inexpensive.

I’m sharing this post with our fellow bloggers at IHCC where we are making dishes from the Mediterranean. Can’t wait to see the selected dishes.

Print Recipe

Seafood Paella

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ pound chorizo, sliced ¼-inch thick
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
½ tablespoon saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups short grain rice
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups green peas
1 pound striped bass fillet, cut into 8 pieces
18 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound mussels, rinsed and beards removed
2 dozen cockles, scrubbed
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled and cut into ¼-inch julienne
¼ cup chopped parsley - paprika
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Instructions

Place an 18-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add chorizo and render the sausage. Add the onions, garlic, saffron and turmeric and sweat until just softened. Add the rice, stir to coat and lightly toast the rice for about 3 minutes.

Add chicken stock and stir to combine. Cook for 15 minutes adding more water as necessary to keep the rice moist. Stir in the peas and add the striped bass and shrimp to the rice, making sure each piece is slightly buried in the rice. Cook the paella for another 4 to 5 minutes until the shrimp and fish start to turn opaque. Add the mussels and cockles with the hinge sides down, so they can easily open and place the peppers around the pan like spokes on a bicycle. Cover with foil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until the mussels and clams open.

Uncover and sprinkle with chopped parsley, paprika and serve immediately with lemon wedges.