Seafood & Sausage Paella
You haven’t felt the joy of cooking an extravagant looking and tasting meal that doesn’t take an extravagant amount of work until you’ve made Paella. This Spanish dish is beautiful, not overly difficult, and absolutely delicious. It’s also very adaptable! This recipe has a bunch of seafood and some sausage, hence the name, but you can make a Cajun Paella with Andouille Sausage, Blackened Salmon, Cajun Chicken, and Shrimp. I’ve had Paella with stewed rabbit made by my friend’s Spanish grandpa while he visited northern Wisconsin. You can’t go wrong with this amazing and versatile recipe… just make sure you have all of your prep finished because there’s a lot of it. I said there isn’t an extravagant amount of work but there is a lot of prep and some simultaneous cooking so have your mis en place rip roaring ready to go.
The amount of fixin’s for the Paella is up to the chef but don’t go overboard because once combined, there’s a lot of goodies in this sucker. Same goes for spice; feel free to add as much as you want to kick up the heat or alter the taste a bit.
I may not be making this Paella in the traditional way which is more of a stew with everything thrown in and cooked together. I do that because I think when the things are individually cooked they have a little more flavor. Also, the fish wouldn’t survive and would fall apart with that much cooking. This way may add a couple more steps but you can do them while the Paella bakes so it’s all good and the end result will be delicious!
Shrimp
Calamari, pre-cut is easiest
Mahi Mahi Filet
Scallops
Spanish Style Chorizo ground or cut into thin slices
Butter
2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Cups Water
1 Cup White Wine
2 Cups Rice
1 Tsp Liquid Smoke
1/2 Tsp Frank’s Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp Oregano
Cayenne Pepper Shakes
Salt
1/8 Cup Fresh Thyme leaves
1/2 Tsp Saffron Threads crushed into powder with pistil & mortar
3/4 Vidalia Onion diced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper diced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper diced
1 Jalapeño seeded & diced
Chopped Parsley
5 Cloves Garlic diced
2 Tomatoes chopped
Seasoning for Shrimp, Mahi Mahi, & Scallops
A few things you’ll want to do immediately is turn the oven on to 425°, get that Chicken Broth warmed up on the stove up to almost simmering, and heat a big wide and deep skillet up to medium.
In that hot skillet throw in some Butter and let it melt before adding the Onion, Red Bell, Green Bell, and Jalapeño peppers and sautéing everything pretty well. When almost done, drop in the diced Garlic, powdered Saffron, Paprika, Thyme, and any other spices and stir and cook for a minute or so more.
Now add the Rice and stir it really well to coat the Rice in the Spices and juices before adding the Tomatoes and then the Wine.
Next up, add that hot Chicken Broth & Water (you may not need all four Cups of them) from the stove as well as the Liquid Smoke and the Hot Sauce and stir everything super well.
After stirring, add the Sausage and Calamari and stir yet again. Now place that entire big Rice and Veggie and Meat filled skillet in the oven and bake that sucker for 40 minutes.
While the Paella’s baking, it’s time to make the other ingredients on the stove in a different hot skillet. So, cook the Shrimp and then set them aside. Cook the Mahi Mahi and set it aside and let it and the Shrimp cool down for a minute.
Now cook the Scallops (which are best seasoned with some Sea Salt & Cayenne Pepper) in a hot skillet for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. When they’re done, spoon them out and place them in a large bowl.
In that large bowl also place the Shrimp which you can cut up or add whole and the Mahi Mahi which should flake apart easily into delicious chunks. Honestly, after all that work, the Paella should almost be done.
Once the Paella’s done in the oven and the 40 minutes are up, take it out and add the seafood bowl before stirring it all together. Then sprinkle some Lemon Juice and Parsley on the top and serve it with some toasted baguettes or fried Calamari or a nice cheesy dip and be the marvel of any dinner party.
