Seafood Paella

Serves: 4-5

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Paella is a Spanish rice dish that is enjoyed by many across Spain. While there are many varieties and styles, seeing as we live in the Pacific Northwest, we champion for seafood paella. You can use any type of seafood that you want and customize it however you please. This dish is a group dinner favorite!

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 tbs olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste or finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

½ tsp sugar

Salt

1 tsp sweet paprika

A good pinch of saffron

2 cups medium-grain Spanish paella rice or risotto rice

3 cups chicken stock

Ginger

¾ lb of shrimp, deveined, shell removed

¾ - 1 lb fillet of salmon, deboned, skin removed

¾ lb of mussels

1 cup dry white wine

Instructions

1. In a large paella pan, fry the onions until caramelized.

2. In another saucepan, bring the stock to a boil with a slice of ginger in it to add extra flavor.

3. Then stir in the garlic. Once the garlic begins to brown, add in the tomatoes, sugar, salt, paprika, saffron, and make sure to stir well and cook until it turns into a thicker sauce.

4. Add in the rice, and make sure to mix it in well so that it is coated with the sauce.

5. Pour the chicken stock over the rice and stir well. Cook over low/medium heat for 15-20 minutes making sure not to disturb it.

6. While the rice is cooking, in another pot, cook the mussels and wine until all the mussels have opened. If they don’t open, it is dead and you can discard it. You’ll want to save the broth from the mussels to add to the rice (use as much as you need to cook the rice), but you can make sure to remove any impurities if you so desire.

7. In another pan, lightly cook the salmon, and the shrimp. You’ll add this back at the end so don’t worry about completely cooking it through. Set aside.

8. Check on the rice, it’ll retain more color when it is cooked. If it is not all the way cooked the rice kernels will still appear white. Add in the mussel juice for flavor. Add the shrimp, and fish in bits into the pot and let them cook fully. Covering your pot with a lid will help with this step.

9. If you start to hear the rice crackling on the bottom of the pan, you can add more liquid (mussel juice, stock, or water is fine). Arrange the mussels on top once the rice is cooked through, and enjoy while hot!