In Spain, you can find many recipes for cooking paella, because Valencia is considered the birthplace of such a dish. The Spaniards prepare their national food on an open fire, with rice and sea delicacies boiled in wine (though unpeeled). Today we will try to cook a fragrant paella with seafood, which has conquered the whole world.

Classic Spanish Paella with Seafood

Many believe that the Spanish paella is quite difficult to prepare, but this is not entirely true. True, novice culinary specialists should nevertheless initially master the classic paella recipe.

It is important to know that Spaniards cook their national food in paella. This is a frying pan with low sides, but a large cooking surface.

Of course, such utensils are not found in every home, so you should choose the option that is closest to the description of the paella.

Ingredients:

  • 220 g of rice groats "Valencia";
  • 500 g of seafood;
  • ½ teaspoon saffron;
  • 120 g canned peas;
  • three tomatoes;
  • 80 ml of white wine;
  • two garlic cloves.

Cooking method:

  1. Defrost and cleanse seafood. Here you can use various delicacies - squid, mussels, shrimp and scallops. Shells should not be thrown away, as they will still be useful to us.
  2. Dissolve saffron in a small amount of water and give the resulting gruel time to infuse.
  3. We prepare the broth from the left shells, garlic and other seasonings. To do this, fill them with one and a half liters of water and cook for 30 minutes.
  4. In hot oil, fry seafood, then add chopped garlic, and after 10 minutes we put peas and grated tomatoes.
  5. Next, pour the Valencia rice (or any other type of round-grain cereal), pour in the alcohol and broth.After 12 minutes, season the dish with saffron and simmer the paella until done.

Cooking in a slow cooker

Almost every modern housewife has a crock-pot in the kitchen, because with it you can cook healthy dishes, even such world-famous as paella.

In Spain, it is served for lunch, as it is believed that the ingredients used in the preparation are poorly absorbed by the body at a later time.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour a little olive oil into the multicooker bowl and fry 500 g of seafood until golden brown. Then add three slices of chopped garlic and thin slices of bell pepper to them.
  2. After 15 minutes, pour 300 g of dry rice with a pinch of saffron and other seasonings.
  3. Pour a glass of broth (water), set the mode to "Rice" or "Pilaf".
  4. Before serving paella on the table, sprinkle with lemon juice.

We complement the recipe with chicken

There are different ways to cook Spanish paella. It is served not only with seafood, but also with meat, vegetables and even sausage.

Spanish culinary specialists use Valencia rice in their preparation. Its short, convex grains perfectly absorb water and aromas, while they do not boil.

If it is not possible to find just such a cereal, then you can take rice for risotto.

Ingredients:

  • 700 g of seafood;
  • 350 g bird fillet;
  • a glass of rice "Valencia" or "Risotto";
  • a pinch of saffron;
  • one tomato;
  • 120 g of fresh peas;
  • a pinch of turmeric;
  • olive oil, salt.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour a pinch of saffron into a glass of hot water and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
  2. Chicken fillet cut into small sticks and fry in very hot oil, transfer to a bowl.
  3. Next, fry seafood and also transfer to another dish.
  4. Pour dry rice into the pan (do not need to rinse it) and cook for a couple of minutes. Then pour the solution with saffron and a little more water so that it covers the cereal by 2 cm. Pour turmeric, reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
  5. While the rice is cooked, we take the tomatoes, cut them into cubes and simmer in a separate pan until they are softened.
  6. Sweet peppers are cut in the same way.
  7. We put tomatoes, peas and peppers in the grits, simmer the dish until rice is ready. Paella with chicken and seafood is ready!

Seafood paella from Julia Vysotskaya

Famous TV presenter Julia Vysotskaya loves Spanish cuisine and offers our attention her recipe for paella. Such a dish is especially appreciated by those who are afraid to harm their figure, since Julia uses a lot of vegetables in her recipe. Therefore, you will need celery, carrots and bell peppers, as well as shrimp, tomato paste, spices and, of course, rice.

Cooking method:

  1. First of all, boil 12 - 15 shrimps, the broth can be tinted with a pinch of saffron.
  2. Cut carrots, bell peppers and celery stalks into cubes and sauté in a pan.
  3. We add half a glass of rice, spices to the vegetables, add two tablespoons of tomato paste and pour the broth.
  4. Stew the dish over low heat until cooked. For a few minutes, spread the shrimp into the paella and sprinkle it with lemon juice.

With sea cocktail

Making paella with a sea cocktail is practically no different from a classic recipe. The plus is that in this case you do not have to buy seafood separately, but you can take a package already equipped with seafood.

As a rule, such a product is sold frozen, therefore, before preparing a sea cocktail, you need to defrost and slightly warm it in a pan so that all excess moisture evaporates.

Ingredients:

  • packaging of sea cocktail (200 g);
  • 150 g of rice;
  • a pinch of saffron;
  • two glasses of vegetable stock;
  • Bell pepper;
  • a pinch of dried garlic.

Cooking method:

  1. In a wide pan, fry seafood with chopped garlic until golden brown.
  2. Then season them with saffron, pour rice and thin strips of sweet pepper. Pour in the broth, which can be boiled from any vegetables.
  3. We cover the pan with a lid and simmer the dish until cooked.

How to make shrimp

If you do not like mussels, squids and other marine life, then you will definitely like the recipe for paella with shrimp. To taste, this version of the dish is in no way inferior to the classic paella, and for a change you can add a little more vegetables. Let this time be tomatoes, peppers, garlic and canned corn. And you also need a glass of dry white wine.

Cooking method:

  1. With three tomatoes, we cleanse the skin, cut the flesh into cubes. Sweet pepper cut into strips, chop three cloves of garlic into small pieces.
  2. In a pan we pass the pepper and garlic, then pour out 280 g of rice, along with a pinch of saffron and seasonings. After 5 minutes, put the tomatoes and 450 g of shrimp. Pour a liter of vegetable (fish) broth and simmer until steaming rice cereal
  3. 15 minutes before cooking, pour 50 ml of white wine, add some canned corn and, if desired, greens.

Black Paella with Seafood

Cuttlefish ink is a real find for pharmaceuticals, paint production and cooking, because we have a natural dye. Many housewives are afraid to cook dishes with such an ingredient, but in vain.

Cuttlefish ink is very useful, and they give the dish not only a black color, but also a special shade of taste.

Cooking method:

  1. In a pan with olive oil, together with a spoonful of dried garlic, fry five king prawns, 100 g squid, four langoustines and cuttlefish.
  2. Next, pour two glasses of fish stock, add a spoonful of cuttlefish ink and as soon as the ingredients begin to boil, pour 150 g of rice. After 20 minutes, add three tablespoons of peas, seasonings and herbs.
  3. We cover the pan and bring the paella to full readiness.

Calorie listed foods

If you monitor your weight, then such a dish as paella certainly does not harm your beauty.

The calorie content of paella with seafood, prepared according to the classic recipe, shows one of the lowest rates - 83 kcal per 100 g of product.

It should be borne in mind that rice is saturated with minerals and carbohydrates, and polyunsaturated acids are part of seafood.

Of course, if you add fried bacon or smoked meat to the dish, you will get a powerful appendage of calories. Therefore, it is best to choose a recipe with chicken, rich in nutrients, vitamins and protein. The last component is especially needed by people leading an active lifestyle. Per 100 g paella with seafood and chicken comes out 95.3 Kcal.

An important role in the preparation of paella is played by seafood - the more there are, the richer the taste of the dish. Spices give a special aroma, among which saffron, as well as curry or turmeric, are necessarily used. The latter give the rice a golden hue. Also, Spanish culinary experts always add canned peas, grated fresh tomatoes and corn to paella.

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