Dinner

Paella

Name: Paella
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 10 raw tiger prawns; 1 bunch parsley, stalks and leaves separated; 100 ml dry sherry; 500g mussels; 1 pinch saffron; 150g chorizo; 1 onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic; 1 medium medium squid; 2 tomatoes; 250g paella rice; 100g broad beans; 1 lemon, zested; 300ml water; salt, to taste; smoked salt, to taste, optional

A classic Spanish seafood paella with tiger prawns, mussels, squid, chorizo, saffron rice, and broad beans.

55 min
650 kcal
Spanish
Seafood
Rice dish

Mellowpan tip: Makes 4 servings, so there’s room for leftovers. Plan them into your week.

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

Steps

Step 1:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a wide, shallow pan.
Step 2:
Add the prawn heads and parsley stalks and sizzle until the prawn heads turn pink.
Step 3:
Mash the prawn heads with a potato masher.
Step 4:
Pour in the sherry and 300ml water, season with salt, and simmer for 10 minutes to make a stock, mashing the prawn heads as they cook.
10 min
Step 5:
Scatter the mussels into the pan and cover loosely with a lid or tea towel.
Step 6:
Cook over high heat for 3–4 minutes, until the mussels just open.
3–4 min
Step 7:
Stir to release the mussel juices, then pour the pan contents through a colander set over a large bowl containing the saffron.
Step 8:
Let the saffron steep in the stock. You will need 700ml in total, so top up with water if needed and stir well.
Step 9:
Pick the mussels out from the colander and set aside.
Step 10:
Wipe out the pan and add the remaining olive oil.
Step 11:
Sizzle the chorizo until it releases its oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.
Step 12:
Add the squid and turn it over until it turns white.
Step 13:
Add the tomatoes and cook down for 1 minute.
1 min
Step 14:
Pour over most of the stock, stir well, and bring to the boil.
Step 15:
Scatter the rice over the stock, stir well once, and boil vigorously for 5 minutes.
5 min
Step 16:
Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer slowly for 10 minutes without stirring, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
10 min
Step 17:
Tuck the prawn tails into the rice and simmer for 5 minutes, turning them over until cooked through.
5 min
Step 18:
Stir through the mussels and broad beans. If the rice is still a little raw and the pan is dry, add a splash more stock and continue cooking; if it is too soupy, increase the heat to cook off the last of the stock.
Step 19:
When the rice is just cooked, turn off the heat and cover with a tea towel for a few minutes.
Step 20:
Scatter over the parsley leaves and lemon zest, then season with smoked salt if desired.
Step 21:
Stir once and serve straight from the pan, with lemon wedges on the side.