Mexican Seafood Paella Recipes

RENOOS

Steps:

• In a heavy bottom pot, boil the chicken stock , salt and water and keep it aside. Slice the tomatoes and fry them without oil. When the tomatoes turn brown remove them from fire and make it into a fine paste in a mixer and keep it aside. Similarly you need to fry the dry red chillies (also without oil) till you get a chilli sting in the air. Remove it from fire, allow to cool and crush it with your fingers and keep aside. Marinate the chicken with salt and keep aside. In a large pan with a lid and heat the olive oil and fry the chicken pieces in the oil till they turn golden in color and keep aside. Add the onions and sausages to the remaining oil and keep frying till the onions turn brownish. Add the garlic and saute well. Add tomato paste, saffron and dried red chillies. Stir continuously. When the mix get thickens and oil surfaces at the top add the rice and stir it well on a high flame. Add the chicken stocks and keep mixing the broth from the sides and from the bottom at one minute intervals. When the rice become about 3/4th done make a gap in the center and fill in the chicken along with prawns and mussels. Cover and cook it on low flame for around 10 minutes till the mussels, prawns and rice are done. Keep the lid on for another 10 more minutes. Garnish the rice with peas and coriander leaves. Slowly mix the rice, chicken and prawns together.

SEAFOOD PAELLA

Steps:

• Discard any broken-shell or open (dead) mussels and clams. Scrub remaining mussels and clams in cold water, removing any barnacles with a dull paring knife. Remove beards from mussels. Place mussels and clams in large container. Cover with cool water. Agitate water with hand to remove sand; then drain and discard water. Repeat several times until water runs clear; drain.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/2 cup of the chicken broth uncovered on High 15 to 20 seconds or until hot. Place saffron in hot chicken broth; allow to rest about 5 minutes or until liquid is dark yellow. Set aside; do not discard saffron.
• In 14-inch paella pan or 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and rice in oil 1 to 2 minutes or until onion is soft. Add shrimp, mussels, clams, peas, parsley, remainder of chicken broth, salt and saffron-infused broth.
• Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pan with foil. Cover foil with a wet towel, making sure no edges of towel hang over sides of pan. Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, clams and mussels are open, shrimp is pink and rice is cooked.
• Removed unopened clams or mussels, and discard. Garnish with roasted peppers.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.
• Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

SEAFOOD PAELLA

Steps:

• Peel and de-vein the prawns, reserving the heads and shells. Return the prawns to the fridge.
• To make the stock, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat and add the onion, tomatoes, garlic, and reserved prawn shells and heads. Cook for 3-4 mins, then pour in 2 litres of water and add the stock cube and star anise. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 mins. Leave to cool slightly, then whizz in batches in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine sieve.
• Heat the oil in a large paella pan or an extra-large frying pan. Brown the monkfish for a few mins each side, then remove and set aside. Add the onion and fry for 4-5 mins until softened.
• Stir in the rice and cook for 30 secs to toast. Add the garlic, paprika, cayenne (if using) and saffron, cook for another 30 secs, then stir in the tomatoes and 1.5 litres of the fish stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook, stirring, for about 10 mins (the rice should still be al dente). Return the monkfish to the pan with the prawns, mussels, peas and broad beans.
• Cover the pan with a large baking tray, or foil, and cook on a low heat for another 10-15 mins until the mussels are open and the prawns are cooked through. Scatter over the parsley before serving.

MEXICAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Place chicken broth and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and heat over low heat.
• Over a low gas flame or under the broiler, roast poblano pepper, turning frequently, until charred, about 5 minutes over flame or 10 minutes under broiler. Remove from heat and cover with a clean kitchen towel until cool enough to handle. Rub off charred skin using a paper towel; remove stem and seeds. Rinse pepper and pat dry; cut into 1/2-inch strips; set aside.
• Place tomatoes and their juices in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Season skin side of chicken thighs with salt and place skin-side down in pan; season with salt. Cook until skin is deep golden, about 10 minutes. Turn and cook until chicken is browned and juices run clear, about 10 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a large rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add onion and chorizo. Cook, stirring, until chorizo is cooked through and onion begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add reserved poblano pepper and tomato puree. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and oil begins to separate from mixture, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice to pan and cook, stirring, until rice turns milky white in color, 4 to 5 minutes. Add heated chicken broth and stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is almost cooked through, about 12 minutes.
• Return chicken to pan and nestle into the center of the rice. Arrange shrimp in a ring around the chicken and the mussels in the rice at the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with a piece of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove paella from oven and stir in peas, parsley, and tequila, if desired. Using a large serving spoon, gently fluff mussels and shrimp into rice mixture. Re-cover and let stand for 10 minutes until rice and shellfish are cooked through. Serve immediately.

MEXICAN SEAFOOD PAELLA

Steps:

• Saute onions, bellpeppers, garlic, and crab legs in olive oil until onions are translucent.
• Add rice to pan. Saute, stirring frequently, until rice turns golden brown.
• Mix Sazón packet with 1 cup of the chicken stock.
• Add wine and Sazón mixture to pan. Stir until liquid is absorbed.
• Add chicken stock, shrimp, and tuna. Stir once, lay lobster on top, making sure to submerge the exposed meat, then cover.
• Cook for 15 minutes. Do not uncover the pan during this time.
• Add peas and tomato. Recover and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

AUTHENTIC SEAFOOD PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over high heat. Cook and stir onion, tomato, salt, and smoked paprika into the hot oil until softened, about 3 minutes. Add romano beans, butter beans, and rice; cook and stir until rice is coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place shrimp, mussels, and clams over the top of the rice mixture. Pour in white wine and seafood stock; sprinkle in saffron threads and rosemary. Bring mixture to a simmer. Turn shellfish and continue to cook until clams and mussels have opened, and shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove clams, mussels, and shrimp and set aside.
• Stir peas into the paella; simmer, uncovered, until rice is tender and has absorbed the liquid, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in squid, and return clams, mussels, and shrimp to the pan. Cook until squid is opaque and cooked through, 2 to 3 more minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

RICK BAYLESS' MEXICAN PAELLA WITH SHRIMP, MUSSELS, AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• The broth and flavorings. In a large (12-quart) stock pot, combine the broth and salt. Measure in 1 gallon of water, cover the pot and set over medium-low heat.
• Roast the fresh tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a preheated broiler until blackened and blistered, about 6 minutes per side. Cool, then peel (if you wish). Scoop the tomatoes (fresh roasted or canned roasted) into a blender or food processor, along with all their juices. Puree and set aside.
• Roast the poblanos over a gas flame or 4 inches below a preheated broiler, turning frequently, until blackened all over, about 5 minutes for the open flame, 10 minutes under the broiler. Collect in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. When cool rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stem and seed pod, then tear the chiles open, scrape out the seeds and rinse briefly under cold water to remove stray bits of skin and seeds. Chop into ½-inch pieces.
• Brown the chicken. Sprinkle the skin side of the chicken thighs with salt. Set the paella pan over the burner or wood fire-the burner set on high, the wood fire stoked to an impressive blaze. Give the pan a minute or so to heat up, then add the olive oil. Tip the pan to distribute the oil, then immediately start laying in the chicken, skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt. Fry-move the pieces around as necessary to ensure they're not sticking and that they are cooking evenly-until the skin is deeply golden, about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs over (I like to do this with a pair of tongs), and fry until browned and cooked through (juices from a small cut at the thickest part will run clear), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove to a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in a low oven.
• Cook the flavorings. Immediately add the onion and chorizo to the pan. Stir (I use a long-handled grilling spatula), breaking up lumps of chorizo, until the chorizo is cooked through and the onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes and poblanos, and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the mixture is very thick and the oil has separated from it, 7 or 8 minutes.
• Start cooking the rice. If using wood, make sure you fire is still stoked to burn very hot. Add the rice to the flavorings, stir to combine, and keep stirring for 4 or 5 minutes, until a good portion of the rice has turned from translucent to milky white. Pour in the broth mixture and set a timer for 12 minutes. Stir once a minute, slowly and thoroughly scraping across the bottom of the pan and moving the rice from edges into the center. At 12 minutes, the rice should have absorbed enough liquid to look like risotto. Check a kernel of rice: it should be getting soft, but still have a tiny bit of chalkiness at the center. If the rice doesn't look or taste ready, let it cook another minute or two.
• Add the chicken and shellfish. Working quickly (I usually ask for help from a guest at this point), nestle the chicken thighs into the center of the rice, lay the shrimp in a ring around the chicken and arrange the mussels in the rice around the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with two pieces of heavy duty foil (it's typically 18 inches wide) or with a folded-up tablecloth. Turn the burner to its lowest setting or remove the burning logs from under the paella (but leave the embers). Let stand for 10 minutes to cook the shrimp and mussels and finish cooking the rice.
• Serving the paella. Uncover the paella and sprinkle with the peas, parsley, and, if you're using it, the tequila. Using a large serving spoon, gently fluff the mussels and shrimp into the rice mixture. (You can do the same thing with the chicken, but it's more difficult.) You can breathe a sigh of relief. You're ready to serve.