Seafood paella in a traditional paellera pan
Everyone likes a good paella, with all its infinite combinations, so what better dinner party recipe idea than a splendid assortment of fresh ingredients displayed in a paellera pan? Interestingly, before we set off on our paella quest in Valencia, Spain, several years ago, I wasn’t aware that the original paella recipe contained no seafood but instead consisted of rabbit or chicken, snails and beans. Our final paella destination was the very charming and idyllic Restaurante Casa Salvador overlooking Estany de Cullera Lake, about an hour outside of Valencia. This magical paella mecca boasts the most comprehensive selection of paellas you are likely to find anywhere, including the original recipes. We ordered the traditional paella as well as a more contemporary seafood version. They were both equally phenomenal, to say the least. Well worth the trip.
For days I’ve been having a hankering for paella so last night we dug up our Arroz Bomba from Valencia, gathered all the appropriate ingredients we could find, rolled up our sleeves and made a perfect paella dinner party for two, although we had enough for 6-8 people. Anyone interested in leftovers?
Ingredients
1/2 – 1/3 lb large shrimp, cooked until opaque, shell removed, tail on
1/3 lb bay scallops
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 dozen small clams, scrubbed and cleaned
2 dozen mussels, debearded and scrubbed clean
1/3 lb snails, boiled and removed from shell (using a pin is helpful)
3/4 cup fresh fava beans, shelled and cooked until tender
3/4 cup green beans, trimmed, steamed and cut into 2″ pieces
2-3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
8 artichoke heart slices
4 cups fish or chicken stock
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups bomba rice (or calasparra)
3 fresh rosemary sprigs, destemmed, leaves chopped
1 Tbsp dill or fennel fronds
lemon wedges for garnish
5-6 saffron threads
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Warm the olive oil in a paellera pan, adding and tossing the scallops and shrimp for about two minutes. Remove the seafood and add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and saffron, stirring well, for at least 5 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the rosemary, salt, pepper and rice and continue to cook uncovered until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. (The rice will absors a lot of stock and salt, so keep tasting and add more salt and stock if necessary). During the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, place the shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels, snails, artichoke heart slices, fava and green beans in the rice and cover to allow the rice to absorb all the flavors and heat all the ingredients together. Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh dill, bring to the table in the paellera, and serve immediately. Disfrute!
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