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Paella Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Paella Recipe

This Spanish Paella recipe is

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 10 mins
Total Time
1 hr 35 mins
Servings: 12
Calories: 55 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Spanish

Ingredients

Mussels/Broth for Paella:
  • 30 mussels about 1 1/4 pounds
  • 5 cups water cold
  • 1 1/2 cups white wine
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 pinches saffron
Paella:
  • olive oil
  • 2 pounds Shrimp shells on are fine, head-on or large shrimp
  • 2 onion peeled and finely diced, yellow
  • 2 bell pepper peeled and finely diced, red
  • 4 garlic peeled and minced, cloves
  • 5 tomato finely diced (core removed and discarded, vine-ripe
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons paprika sweet
  • 2 teaspoons cumin ground
  • 4 bay leaves dried
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt and then the rest to taste
  • 4 cups valencia rice see note below, or Arborio rice
  • 6 cups mussel broth see above
  • 2 to 4 cups chicken stock I used store-bought

Instructions

To Make the Mussels/Broth for Paella:
    Cup of Yum
  1. To clean mussels and make the broth for the paella: add them to a bowl of cold water. Mix in about 2 teaspoons of flour. (Eyeball this measurement!) The mussels will gorge on the flour a bit and release any sandy bits. To a pot, set over high heat, add 5 cups of cold water, along with white wine and garlic. When the water reaches a simmer, add the mussels and cover pot; cook for 2 to 5 minutes, until mussels are opened. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened—these are bad!
  2. Remember that we’re not throwing out the broth—that’s the good stuff. Remove the mussels using a slotted spoon and add them to a bowl. Transfer them to the fridge. Run the broth through a strainer and mix in the saffron. You should end up with about 6 cups of broth. Set aside.
To Make the Paella:
  1. Place the paella pan over medium-high heat. Add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, flipping them halfway through. This will them about 3/4 of the way and and give the pan a super savory flavor. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  2. Add about 1/4 cup of oil and when hot, add the onions and red bell peppers. Cook until very softened, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add more a teaspoon or two of more oil is it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Mix in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Next, mix in the tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, cumin, bay leaves and salt. Cook until the tomatoes have released and cooked out all the water, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring very often. You can adjust the heat as needed. During this period I turned the heat down to medium.
  3. Next, pour in the rice and mix and toast and mix and toast, about 5 minutes. Pour in about 2 cups of broth (you can eyeball this measurement). Bring the heat up to medium-high (the liquid should eventually come to a simmer), and cook the paella, stirring frequently. Give the paella a taste and add salt (I added a few more tablespoons—it’s a lot of rice!). When the liquid is mostly absorbed, repeat this 4 to 5 more times, adding 2 cups of broth at a time until the rice is mostly cooked.
  4. When the rice is pretty much done, pour in an additional 1 cup of broth and smooth out the top. Adjust the salt to taste. Keep cooking (this will create a crust on the bottom) until the broth is mostly absorbed (I like my paella with a bit of liquid in it) and add the mussels and shrimp to the top of the paella. Allow to stand for about 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with minced Italian parsley or in my case, micrograms.
  5. There will be leftovers and they’ll be SO good. You can heat it up in the microwave or over the stove-top.

Nutrition Information

Serving 10g Calories 55kcal (3%) Carbohydrates 8g (3%) Protein 4g (8%) Fat 1g (2%) Saturated Fat 0.2g (1%) Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g (2%) Monounsaturated Fat 0.2g (1%) Cholesterol 6mg (2%) Sodium 669mg (28%) Potassium 338mg (7%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 1704IU (34%) Vitamin C 37mg (41%) Calcium 29mg (3%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 55

% Daily Value*

Serving 10g
Calories 55kcal 3%
Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Protein 4g 8%
Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0.2g 1%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g 2%
Monounsaturated Fat 0.2g 1%
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 669mg 28%
Potassium 338mg 7%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1704IU 34%
Vitamin C 37mg 41%
Calcium 29mg 3%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.