New Year’s Seafood Paella

Happy New Year! To kick start a brand new year, I thought I would make an easy one-pan dish that is impressive on the eyes and stomach – the paella, a universally loved Spanish dish.

I’ve always thought that paella was a difficult dish to make because it looks complicated. But I was so wrong! When I went to Sevilla, Spain a few years ago, I was lucky enough to have a paella cooking lesson with my friend’s mom. She spoke no English and I spoke broken Spanish so thank goodness for Google translate! She taught me that paella is actually pretty easy and fail-proof, especially if you have the right pan and use the right rice. She also said that it’s imperative to create stock from prawn heads to sweeten the flavors, so I incorporated that in my recipe. My first taste of paella was home-made by a Spanish mom so it’s all pretty much downhill from there! But hopefully I’ve done it justice with my own version of this Spanish delight.

Seafood Paella

Serves 12-15

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (½ kg) large uncooked prawns, heads and bodies separated
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 3 teaspoons paprika
• 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 2 chorizos, cut into small pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups uncooked paella rice labeled as bomba or Valencia (if unavailable, use risotto rice)
• 2 uncooked squid, sliced into circles
• 16 mussels, scrubbed

Sauce (optional):

Blend together

• ½ bunch cilantro (2 cups)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Special Equipment:

• 15-inch paella pan
• Grill (electric or charcoal)

Detach the prawn heads from the bodies. Put the prawn heads in a medium pot with the chicken stock and saffron. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Marinade the raw prawn bodies with 1 teaspoon paprika and pinch of salt and pepper. Refrigerate. Do the same with the chicken breast.

Start by heating up your grill with a high heat. Put your paella pan on the grill and heat up a tablespoon of canola oil. Sauté the chorizo pieces until they’re cooked, then remove them and place on a clean plate. Do the same with the chicken breast pieces. After that, add more oil and start sautéing the red bell peppers, onion and garlic. Add 1 teaspoon of paprika to the mixture. Watch the heat and rotate the pan if you need to.

When the vegetables have become soft and sizzling, add the rice and mix with the oil and vegetables so that each grain is coated with oil. Pour the prawn/chicken broth over the rice and make sure the rice is evenly distributed. Place the cooked chorizo and chicken pieces on top of the rice, and add any juice that came from cooking the meats.

Bring the broth to a boil. If you’re using an electric grill, lower the temperature to a simmer. If you’re using charcoal like I did, try to move the pan to an indirect heat area. Let it simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes and rotate the pan every 5 minutes to make sure the paella is cooking evenly.

When the liquid has been absorbed, add the raw prawns, squid and mussels, and about ½ to 1 cup of water, and cover the pan with foil. Let it cook for another 10 to 12 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through and the shellfish have opened. By then, the rice should be tender and al dente.

Drizzle the cilantro sauce over the cooked paella to add a fresh, tangy brightness to the flavors!