Paella is a rice-based dish, typical of Valencian cuisine — hence, in Portugal it is commonly known as Valencian rice and in Brazil as Valencian paella — and popularized throughout Spain (with a large amount of variations adapted to the ingredients from the different regions of Spanish cuisine) and in other countries, becoming a reference in Spanish gastronomy.
It is a stew of rice, meat and vegetables prepared in a paella over a fire, whether it is a paeller or a stove. The recipe comes from the marjal of Albufeira de Valencia, in the natural region of Ribeira do Júcar, south of the city of Valencia. It is consumed on any occasion, especially when friends or families get together, on Saturdays, Sundays or on traditional holidays, and it is considered the typical dish of the Valencian Country par excellence.
The dish was initially a simple meal made with ingredients available in addition to rice: rabbit meat, chicken or even duck; vegetables (different types of beans — bajoques, fesols or garrofons — and tomatoes), olive oil, water, saffron, snails and salt. Over time, it was modernized and entered the menus of restaurants, where it is cooked with different types of seafood, including bogavantes, shrimp or lobster.
Its internationalization led to the creation of dishes with little relation to the Valencian original. To avoid the confusion generated by this situation, a group of Valencian cooks, including some restaurant associations, declared the need to make a single recipe official, and apply a designation other than Valencian paella to the others.
Check out a great recipe!
Seafood Paella
Cuisine: SpanishDifficulty: Medium6
servings50
minutes40
minutesThe most popular variant is paella marinera, which mostly dispenses with vegetables and replaces meat with various shellfish, molluscs and fish, in addition to replacing water with fish broth. In Valencian lands it is also possible to find another variety known sometimes as “paella d’hivern” (winter paella) in which, due to the difficulty of finding green beans at that time of year, other vegetables such as artichokes are used to replace them. There are no historical documents that indicate exactly the origin of paella marinera, but rather that it is the coastal alternative to the traditional paella, made with cuttlefish, squids, crayfish, lobster, clams, or clotxine (Mediterranean variety of mussels, smaller and finer). ).
Use the quality ingredients listed below and follow the cooking method!
Ingredients
180 ml olive oil
650 gr risotto rice or paella rice
10 garlic cloves
1 1/2 large onion
2 red bell peppers
200 gr squid
250 gr mussels
250 gr pink shrimp
1500 ml fish broth
80 ml saffron
400 ml tomato sauce
Salt
Black pepper
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in paella pan or large frying pan with a medium-high heat and add the squid into the pan and saute for 2 minutes, then remove the squid from the pan and set it aside;
- Now do the same for shrimps;
- Now add the onions and garlic into the pan and mix it. After 2 minutes add the red bell pepper and cook it for 5 minutes;
- Then add the tomato sauce and mix it together;
- After that, add salt and black pepper as much as you want;
- And mix it together then add the squid back into the pan and mix it for 1 minutes;
- Now add the fish broth and the saffron then mix it together;
- Once the broth comes to a boil, add the rice;
- After 5 minutes of cooking add the shrimp and the mussels then cook for 7 minutes, then lower the fire to a low-medium heat. Don’t mix the rice after this point, just give the pan a quick shake;
- After 5 minutes of cooking add the shrimps i sauteed at the beginning of the video;
- After simmering for 10 minutes, increase the heat to high for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and cover ithe paella pan completely and set aside for 10 minutes;
- Ater 10 minutes, uncover the paella;
- And garnish with some lemon wedges;
- It’s ready to serve;