If we talked about the most consumed foods around the world, then rice would be right up there in the top 5.
The origin of rice is a question that we don’t have a definite answer to, to this day. Although many people claim that it originated in China, some researchers claim that it comes from India. In short, it is not easy to conclude its origin, but what is certain is that it is one of the most versatile and nutritive foods we have.
A staple food that acquire many flavours
Many recipes around the world use rice as the main ingredient. Here are just a few:
- Risotto: This is an Italian dish made with round rice accompanied by vegetable stock, chicken, mushrooms, and spices and some include a touch of wine in their recipes. It is one of Italy’s signature dishes.
- Biryani: In India, biryani is another rice-based dish. The rice is cooked with vegetables, nuts, and of course, lots of spices.
- Arroz Chaufa: This is a famous dish from the Peruvian Chifa cuisine. It is cooked rice that is combined with a garlic and ginger stir-fry and soy sauce, vegetables, peppers, onions, chicken, pork, or prawns.
An iconic meal of the Iberic peninsula
Paella is a meal created in Valencia, Spain; its main ingredient is rice and saffron and can include poultry, seafood, and/or vegetables. Each region of Spain has its paella recipe and that’s what makes it special.
Some styles of paella are :
- Paella Valenciana: This is the authentic and original paella. It is prepared with a sauce of tomato, pepper, onion, and garlic. The tradition of using rabbit meat makes it a dish with a unique flavour.
- Paella de Carne: this is a style of paella that you can eat on weekends with your family. It is usually made with chicken meat, and the use of black pepper and sweet paprika gives it a very particular taste.
- Paella Negra: a typical dish from Galicia, it takes a black colour from the ink of the octopus or squid used. It is made with seafood such as shrimps and prawns, like traditional seafood Paella, but the black ink gives it an appearance and flavour that makes it different from the others.
In this post, I will show you an exquisite recipe for one of the most delicious Spanish meals: Seafood Paella, cooked on a grill or bbq for a really special flavour.
Since I’m very sure you will love it, I’ve provided the next recipe for a large number of servings. Enjoy it!
Before you continue onto the recipe, you may like to know an alternative seafood paella here: https://mahatmarice.com/recipes/authentic-spanish-paella-seafood/
Seafood Paella (6 servings)
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups of chicken stock.
- ½ tsp. of crumbled saffron threads, (loosely measured).
- ¼ tsp. of salt.
- 3 tbsp. of olive oil.
- ½ yellow onion (finely chopped).
- ½ red bell pepper (finely chopped).
- 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or just crushed, to your taste).
- 200 grams of rounded cut mild dried chorizo sausage.
- 3 cups of short-grain rice (Bomba rice or Arborio will work perfectly).
- 1 can or 450 grams of fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- 1 cup of frozen green peas.
- 450 grams of large shrimp (peeled and deveined).
- 450 grams of rinsed and scrubbed mussels.
- 450 grams of rinsed and scrubbed littleneck clams.
- ¼ cup of chopped parsley.
How to prepare
- Preheat the grill to 190°C if using a gas grill. If wood-fired, light the wood until a grey layer of ash covers it.
- In a saucepan, put the chicken stock to a boil, add the saffron and salt. Turn off the heat and reserve for 15 minutes. Add more salt if necessary.
- To prepare the sofrito, heat the oil in a large-sized skillet over medium heat. Sauté the red bell pepper and the onion for 7-8 minutes until they’re soft. Then add the chorizo and the garlic. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
- Take the skillet to the grill and add the rice to the sofrito. Cook it for about 5 minutes, then add the stock, the peas and the tomatoes. Sprinkle a little more salt if it’s necessary.
- Close the grill. Let the rice cook for 15 minutes or until the stock is absorbed (do not stir).
- After 15 minutes, open the grill and place the mussels and clams hinge side up. In this position, they will release their juices over the rice. Add the shrimp around the mussels clams.
- Cover the skillet with foil and leave cooking on the closed grill until the rice and shrimp are ready, and the mussels and clams are open.
- Check to see if the bottom of the skillet has a golden colour. If not, keep cooking for a few minutes more until the bottom lightly caramelizes. Add the parsley on top.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Mussels and clams should be discarded if they have not opened after step 7 of the cooking process.
Disclosure: this is a collaborative post