Saffron Paella is an exotic Spanish recipe that is made primarily of rice, seafood, stock, and real saffron added Paella Mix, cooked in a single pan or a large skillet. As this is a one-pot meal so the dish is super easy to make and also you do not need to worry about cleaning different pans and pots while preparing the main course dish. You can try this all-time famous and extremely palatable recipe with just a few ingredients that we normally have in our kitchen. The dish roughly takes around 40 to 45 minutes to cook which is not much for the main course dish. You can always create your version by replacing a few ingredients here and there. For example, if you do not like seafood, simply replace it with chicken or meat or if you want a vegetable paella, add some mushrooms and olives instead.
We are sharing with you a Paella Rice recipe made with Saffron Paella Mix to introduce you to this amazing Spanish food delight and take you to the land of astounding beaches. So, without further ado, let’s talk about the ingredients required to cook this Paella meal.
Serving size: The recipe yields 4 servings.
Paella Rice Ingredients
- Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
- Tiger prawns (10 pieces)
- Parsley (1 bunch)
- Lemons (2)
- Mussels (500 grams or 17.6oz)
- Paella Spice Mix with added Saffron
- Smoked sausages (150 grams or 5.29oz)
- Onion (1 small)
- Squid (1 medium-sized)
- Tomatoes (1 medium-sized)
- Small grain rice (250 grams or 8.8oz)
- Smoked sea salt (1/2 teaspoon)
Preparation of Saffron Paella
- Wash and soak rice in water for about 10 to 15 minutes to remove surface starch and decrease the cooking time.
- Roughly chop a tomato. Finely chop one whole onion by removing the skin and the innermost core.
- Cut the smoked sausages into equal-sized small chunks.
- Remove the parsley leaves from stalks and roughly chop them.
- Now it’s time to prepare the squid. Start by washing it properly. Then hold the head in one hand and the tail in the other and with a slight twisting motion remove the head by pulling them apart. Now you have the squid head with tentacles and innards on one side and the squid body on the other side. Remove the head and innards. Just use the tentacles and body cut in small rings in this recipe. Also, do not forget to remove the beak from the tentacles and cartilage from the body. Wash it thoroughly before use.
- Separate the heads of the tiger prawns from the body but do not remove the shell. Keep all the parts aside.
- Finely zest one of the lemons and cut it into small wedges. Squeeze the other lemon into a small bowl.
Cooking instructions
- Heat a paella pan or a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into it. Now add prawn heads and chopped parsley into it and cook until the heads turn pink. Add lemon juice with 300ml or 10oz of water. Mash everything with a potato masher.
- Add a little smoked sea salt for seasoning and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes or until you get a stock.
- Add the mussels into the pan and wait for them to open over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
- When the mussels start releasing their juice, strain the stock using a colander into a large bowl.
- No wipe the pan and add a tablespoon of olive oil into it over medium heat. Now you need to sizzle the smoked sausages into the oil for a couple of minutes when the sausages release their oil add chopped onions and tomato along with the Saffron Paella Mix.
- Stir and cook it for four to five minutes. Now at this point add most of the stock into the pan, stir it and bring it to boil. Now it’s time to add rice into the stock. Stir it gently and let the rice cook into the boiling stock for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to a minimum and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice absorbs almost all the stock.
- Raise the lid and add mussels and prawn tails on top of the rice and let it simmer for some time.
- Give it a nice and gentle stir, remove it from the stove and enjoy it with your family.
