Almost a decade ago, I went to Spain and my biggest regret from my trip was not eating more paella! The seafood paella in Spain was sooo good, and nowhere in Seattle comes close to doing paella justice, so I decided to try and make my own.
This came out really tasty, and even though I don’t think mine is quite as good as the ones in Spain, this captures exactly the flavors that I’ve been missing.
I know that paella is traditionally made in its own special paella pan, but I have a small kitchen, and don’t have space for a pan that I’d only use once or twice a year. Instead, I used my large, straight edge frying pan.
Fun fact, the pan I used is a White Elephant gift, and every time I cook with it, it proves that White Elephant gifts are not always trash! It’s a great size for meal prepping and cooking in large quantities ~ a perfect alternative for a home cook who doesn’t want to shell out the extra cash on specialty paella pan.
However, for this dish, something worth spending money on is saffron threads. They’re an ingredient you’ll see in almost every paella recipe, but they are worth more than gold. Saffron threads are not usually available in your standard grocery store. The first time we made this dish, we went to Pike Place Market to get fresh shellfish and chorizo.
There is an amazing spice shop in Pike Place called Market Spice. They have so many spices that you can buy and the staff was great at recommending spice mixes for all sorts of recipes. This is where we ended up getting our saffron threads the first time. However, we were also able to find saffron threads at our local Trader Joe’s and Sur La Table. Happy hunting!
Keep your peas in your pan, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Seafood and Chorizo Paella
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chorizo sausages sliced (or ½ lb ground chorizo)
- 1 onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 4 cups chicken stock/vegetable stock
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp saffron threads
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 15 shrimp shelled and deveined
- 10 mussels scrubbed
- 1 cup green peas frozen
- 1 lemon cut into wedges for serving
- Chopped parsley (garnish)
Instructions
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Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a paella pan or large skillet. Saute chorizo for about 5 minutes.
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Move chorizo to one side of the pan. In the open space, add the onion and saute for 2 minutes until translucent, then add garlic and red pepper. Stir together with chorizo and cook for another minute.
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Add rice and saute for 1-2 minutes, then add the broth, salt, pepper, paprika, and saffron. Bring broth to a boil, then lower temperature to simmer on medium-low. Cover the pan for 15 minutes while it simmers.
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After those 15 minutes, add the mussels, shrimp, and peas to the pan and cover it again. Let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the shrimp are pink and mussels have opened.
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Serve with chopped parsley and lemon wedges.