Seafood Paella by Paella Lover 

Seafood Paella recipe for 6 people

by Guillermo Bermell, Founder Paella Lover

The hottest moment of the day is when the whole island slows down. It’s too hot to sit outside in the sun and therefore the perfect moment to gather with the whole family under the covered terrace of your villa. The kids are playing in the garden, the adults enjoying a glass of chilled rose to accompany long conversations and a gigantic “olla” of Paella.

This is what we enjoy most in the summer. Guillermo, founder of the excellent Paella Lover shares with us how to make a Seafood Paella without fail in the comfort of your own home. So even if it is the first time cooking Paella it will taste as if it just came from your favourite chef or restaurant in Mallorca and ignite the memories of your time on the island.

First, get your kitchen tools out!
In case you don’t have a gas ring you can just cook the Paella on the stove. Though if you have a gas ring it makes it even more fun as it will allow you to cook outside on the terrace and don’t miss out on the heated family debates.

 

 

Next, prepare your ingredient for your seafood paella for 6 people.
In case you cannot find all the ingredient, we will share a few suggestions so you can substitute the ingredient for something else. An important rule, the fresher the ingredients, the better the taste, colour and flavour of the paella. Frozen ingredients can be used though will reduce the flavour of the Paella.

Stock ingredients

  • Bycatch (around 0,75kg -1,65lb) 
    • In case you don’t like bycatch you can substitute it for any fish you like. 
  • Monkfish (the tall bone and the head) 
    • Separate the head and the bone from the meat and use them for the stock. Reserve the meat to cook later in the paella. 
  • Crab legs (6 pieces) 
    • They can be substituted for any other kind of hard shell seafood. 
  • Small “red” prawns (50 gr – 1.1 lb)
    • These will intensify the flavour of the stock. 
  • Mussels (1kg -2,2 kg) 
    • Clean the dirt of the shells, cut the hairs on the outside and rinse thoroughly 4-5 times.  Option to substitute with clams. 
  • Leek (1 piece) 
    • Slice it into small pieces. It could be substituted for onion. 
  • Tomato (1 medium-sized) 
    • Grate or chop it into very small pieces 
  • Ground dried red sweet pepper (2 tbs) 
    • Add this for the colour and the smoked flavour 
  • Salt (2tbs) 
  • Water (3ltrs)

Paella ingredients 

  • Monkfish (the meat) 
  • Dublin bay prawns (Norway lobster) (6 pieces) 
    • To be fried straight in the Paella 
  • Cuttlefish (2 medium sizes 
    • Dice them into bite-sized pieces 
  • Jumbo Shrimp 
    • To be fried straight in the Paella 
  • Small squid (200 gr – 0.44 lb) 
    • Dice them into bite-sized pieces 
  • Ground dried red pepper (1 tbs) 
  • Tomatoes (2 medium-sized) 
    • Grate or cut them very small. 
  • Leek ( 1 piece) 
  • Salt (1tbs) 
  • Bomba rice (600 gr – 1.3 lb) 
    • Can be substituted for any medium grain rice 
  • Olive oil 
    • To cover ⅓ of the Paella pan surface 
  • Ground saffron (3 pinches)

Preparing the stock 

Take the pot and put it on the gas stove. Cover half of the bottom with oil and turn the fire to 60% of it’s potential. Add the small red prawns, the bycatch and the leek. Cook for 5 minutes and stir often. Add the ground dried red pepper and stir continuously for 1 minute.

Then add the rest of the ingredients for the stock – the mussels as last. Turn the fire to 100% until it boils. When the stock starts boiling, take the mussels out and put them aside. 

Then reduce to low heat while it keeps boiling. Let it boil for 30 minutes maximum and stir occasionally. In the meantime, take 12 mussels. Separate the valve where there is no meat and reserve the ones with meat. Take the meat out of the rest of the mussels and reserve separated from the others. 

Taste the stock and add salt to taste. If too salty, add water until you get to the right taste. Turn the fire off and mash the ingredients. Strain the mix. Set aside 2 litres of stock (0,53 gal), which will be the amount, needed for our rice.

Cooking the Paella 

Turn the fire on in the small gas ring at 60% and put the paella pan on it. Add oil to cover 1/3 of the paella pan surface and add 4-5 pinches of salt evenly throughout the paella. Stir-fry all the jumbo shrimp and the Dublin bay prawns. When they start browning take them out and put aside.

Our fire still at 60%, add the cuttlefish, the small squids and monkfish in the middle and fry, stirring frequently. When they are done, move the pieces to the sides of the paella pan. Reduce the gas to 50%. Now stir-fry the leek rings until they are lightly brown. Put to the sides, together with the fish.  Then add the grated tomatoes and stir for 5 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients and add the saffron and the ground red sweet pepper. Stir for about 10 seconds and add the 2L of stock, we’ve just made. Increase heat to high in all gas rings.

When the stock starts boiling, pour the rice evenly throughout the pan and set a timer to 10 minutes. 

Reduce heat to the lowest possible in all gas rings and count another 8 minutes. Now put the meat of the mussels you fully separated from the valves. And finally add the Dublin bay prawns, the jumbo shrimp, the one-sided-mussels for decoration if you like.

After 8 minutes, take a look at the paella: if there is still some stock (there shouldn’t be much), let it sit for another 2 minutes. If there is no stock, you can turn the fire off. The first layer of the rice might appear to be dry or uncooked, but do not worry as this is normal.

The Paella is ready to eat. Bon profit!

Would you like to know more about making the best Paella or invite him over to cook at your villa in Mallorca, contact Guillermo from Paella Lover. 

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