Seafood Paella
There are many regional variations of paella, and just like their Italian cousin the risotto, a good flavoursome stock is the key. This seafood version uses the discarded prawn heads and shells to make a quick aromatic stock in just 30 mins. Have all your ingredients prepared in advance and the whole dish can be done and dusted in under an hour.
Unlike risotto however, paella doesn’t require constant stirring, nor should it be creamy and in fact, an authentic paella will have formed a crust underneath, although this is difficult to achieve in a standard pan on a domestic hob.
These days garden peas have replaced the traditional beans native to Valencia; fresh broad beans would be a better alternative if you can find any, or sliced runner beans even but this recipe includes neither, and instead enjoys the simple marriage of garlic, saffron, seafood and rice.
(Of course, chorizo will always be welcome in a paella too; fry it off first then use its oil to sauté the onion in, adding it back into the rice with the fish.)
Ingredients
(serves 4)
For the stock
1 x garlic clove roughly chopped
Stalks of one bunch of parsley
Heads and shells from 8 large prawns
150ml white wine
Reserved juices and seeds of the tomatoes
For the paella
1 x 200g chorizo, sliced (optional)
400g monkfish tail, portioned into 12 pieces
8 x whole, raw tiger prawns
250g fresh mussels, washed
250g paella rice (or alternative short grain rice)
600ml freshly made prawn stock
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 x average onions finely chopped
6 x fresh tomatoes (deseeded) finely chopped
Large pinch saffron
1 x teaspoon smoked paprika
Large bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the stalk and seeds along with the juices and reserve in a bowl. Make the stock by gently frying the garlic in a good glug of olive oil, then add the prawn heads and shells. Fry until pink then add the white wine and boil for a couple of minutes. Add the parsley stalks and reserved tomato juices etc., and 600ml of water. Simmer for 30 mins.
Strain the stock through a sieve into a jug and add the saffron. Season it generously.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large wide pan and sauté the onion with the garlic over a low heat until soft. Add the monk fish and colour on all sides, then remove to a plate.
Add the tomatoes to the pan with the rice and paprika, and stir everything together before adding 500ml of the stock all in one go. Stir to combine then leave it to simmer for 10 mins, undisturbed.
Add the mussels, raw prawns and monk, pushing them partially into the rice and cook for another 6 – 8 minutes covered with a lid, or tea towel. If the rice looks like it’s drying out too quickly, add a splash more stock – but it shouldn’t be loose or sloppy.
Leave the paella to relax for 5 or 10 mins before covering liberally with chopped parsley. Serve with wedges of lemon.