Seafood Paella Recipe

Don’t be intimidated by the thought of preparing a seafood paella dish. It is easier than you think. This recipe will give you easy steps on how to gather necessary ingredients, prepare your seafood, and make an amazing shrimp stock. It also allows you to substitute other ingredients for pricey ones.

Seafood Paella Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1-1/2 lbs. large head-on shrimp (peel and de-vein to make shrimp stock**)

• 2 lbs. of mussels (buy them already cleaned and de-bearded if possible)

• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• Seasoned rice packets from 2 boxes of Vigo Paella Valenciana Yellow Rice & Seafood Dinner (The rice already has saffron in it. Most recipes call for the use of saffron threads but they are expensive.)

• Kosher salt

• Ground black pepper

• Bay leaf

• 14.8 oz can diced tomatoes

• 3 roasted red peppers from a jar, diced

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 2 cups pre-made shrimp stock** or substitute warm water

• 1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed

• Lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

• Optional: additional seafood of your choice (clams, scallops, lobster tails, etc.)

**Shrimp stock preparation:

As you peel and de-vein the large head-on shrimp, place the heads and shells in a pot. Fill that pot with enough water to cover shells and bring to a boil over high heat. Then simmer for 1 hour. Remove pot from the heat and strain the liquid into a container. Discard heads and shells. Set aside the liquid which is now your shrimp stock for later.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Toss the peeled and deveined shrimp with 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

Dice and chop your vegetables and herbs.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven pot over medium-high heat on the stove. When it is sizzling hot, add the diced roasted peppers, onion, parsley, and bay leaf. Sauté until the onions are translucent for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika. Sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the seasoned rice packets from the Vigo Seafood Dinner boxes and toast until slightly browned for about 3 minutes.

Pour in your prepared shrimp stock or 2 cups of warm water. Stir until rice fully absorbs the liquid. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir again and make sure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the mussels, shrimp, and your optional choice of any other seafood. Cover the skillet/pot with aluminum foil or applicable top and place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The mussels should open up during their time in the oven.

Then, carefully place the pot or skillet back on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the thawed peas. Cook until the rice forms a crust and the peas soften for about 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Tips

• Dice your vegetables by hand instead of with a food processor because it produces a lot of moisture and will inhibit the rice from forming a crust.
• If you substitute a pre-packaged container of stock, beware of salt content due to the spices already in the Vigo packages.
• The Vigo Seafood Dinner boxes include small containers of seafood that you can use or reserve for another dish.
• Cleaning and de-bearding your mussels is easy to do. Mussels have a thread that they produce to help them attach to rocks. Simply rinse the mussel shells under cold water and gently pull the thread out that resembles brown seaweed.

Be sure to check out my recipe for Momma's Glazed Baked Ham.