Classic Spanish Paella

4.50 from 8 votes

This Classic Spanish Paella rivals any restaurant paella! Sometimes nothing compares to good home cooking, and recipe by a beloved mother.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: Mussles, Paella, Rice, Seafood, Shrimp

Servings: people

Calories: 506kcal

Author: Karina

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
6 large cloves garlic finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), diced into small pieces
4 large boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into bite-sized pieces
4 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine (sauv blanc, pinot gris) -- optional
Salt and pepper to taste
10-12 mussels scraped and cleaned properly
8 ounces (250 g) calamari rings
3 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock (or homemade fish stock)
2 cups medium grain or jasmine rice
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon saffron powder (or saffron threads)
1 teaspoon paprika (sweet or smoked)
1/2 teaspoon each garlic and onion powders
21 ounces (600 g) shrimp
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf chopped parsley
Fire roasted bell peppers (capsicum) strips

Instructions

Heat oil in a large sized non-stick pan or well seasoned skillet (or a paella pan if you have one), over medium heat. Fry onion, garlic and capsicum together; cook until onion is transparent (about 3 minutes).
Sauté chicken until golden on all sides. Add in the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes until they release liquid and the tomatoes begin to create a sauce.
Add the wine, mussels and calamari rings. Allow to cook for a further 5 minutes; allow the wine to evaporate to half the quantity, then pour in the stock (or broth), rice, peas and saffron. Mix all ingredients until well combined.
Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and cover to allow MOST of the liquid to absorb into the rice, while stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking and burning to the pan underneath. (Cook until the rice is ALMOST cooked through.)
Add in the prawns, mixing them through the rice, and cover again to allow the prawns and rice to cook completely.
Once cooked, sprinkle with the parsley. Place capsicum strips over the top of the paella for enhanced flavour to serve. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil over the top before serving.

Notes

Seafood: Fully shelled shrimp is ideal and traditional in paella, but we prefer peeled, tail on shrimp. If you don't like seafood, replace with 2 large chicken thigh fillets.
Chicken: Substitute with pork if desired.
Rice: Medium grain or jasmine rice yield the best results.
Fire roasted peppers: Make your own by placing them on direct flame over a gas cooker or stove top until they char and the skin begins to crease and peel.

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