Quick and Easy Paella Recipes

Traditional Paella Valenciana served to tourists in Spanish restaurants are often prepared with both seafood and chicken - sometimes with rabbit (conejo). It is absolutely normal since in some Spanish regions traditional paella isn't prepared with seafood at all but only with chicken or rabbit or chorizo, etc. So, the "Paella Valenciana" does include both seafood and chicken. But personally, although I really appreciate a Jambalaya with both crayfish and chicken I'm not fan of chicken in my paella and thus, I never add it to my personal paella recipe.

So, here are the ingredients needed to prepare a traditional paella - I mean the one that is time consuming. Please take note that I cook traditional paella for two people but portions are quite large and one can keep the leftovers in the fridge for a few days or even in the freezer for a few months.

Before starting the recipe make sure that you have a real paella pan on hand!

• 1 large onion
• 1 red and 1 green pepper
• 2-3 chopped/crushed fresh tomatoes
• 1 can green beans
• 1 pound Spanish or Mediterranean rice

• 1/2 pound hulls
• 1/2 pound shells
• 1/2 pound squid rings
• 1/2 pound prawns or scampi
• 2 Spanish mussles per person (big mossels)
• 2 langoustines per person
• 1 lobster (optional)
• Water

• Saffron to taste
• olive oil
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 lemon per person

• Cook mussels in boiling water for a few minutes until they're opened, keep warm
• [Optional: cook the lobster in boiled water and keep warm.]
• Heat olive oil in a paella pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and peppers; mix until onions are melted
• Then add the can peeled and crushed tomatoes
• Add the squid rings and cook for a while (squid is harder to cook than any other of these ingredients)
• Once squid rings are 1/2 cooked, add the rest of seafood, the green beans and rice
• Add 2 cups water for one cup rice**
• Add 1 fish stock cube, salt and pepper to taste and saffron
• When rice is almost cooked, add mussels and let cook until water evaporation

Paella Valenciana with Chicken and Seafood
Rynio, Jörn - Buy This Allposters.com

Preparing a paella de mariscos can take some time. However, I always try to prepare quick and easy recipes. Thus, I found a way to reduce the paella de mariscos cooking time.

Whenever I want to prepare a quick but traditional paella de mariscos, I buy frozen cooked seafood as well as frozen chopped peppers, onions and garlic so that I save time on cleaning, chopping and cooking time. I replace fresh chopped tomatoes by 1 can peeled crushed tomatoes. Prawns are the only seafood I don't use ready-to-cook. I also do not cook anything separately.

Here's how to prepare my quick and easy paella de mariscos recipe:

• Heat olive oil in a paella pan and add the frozen chopped onion, garlic and peppers, mix until onions are melted
• Then add the can peeled and crushed tomatoes
• Add the squid rings and cook for a while (squid is harder to cook than any other of these ingredients)
• Once squid rings are 1/2 cooked, add the rest of seafood, the green beans and rice including the mussles
• Add 2 cups water for one cup rice
• Add 1 fish stock cube, salt and pepper to taste and saffron
• Cook until water evaporation

Difference between both recipes? My quick and easy paella de mariscos doesn't look as beautiful as a traditional paella but it is as tasteful as the longer paella recipe!