»Back to Rice

Seafood Paella

Contributed by: Melinda

I'd been wanting to try a paella with Basmati rice so when I needed to make a seafood paella for a dinner party, I looked through a variety of recipes and came up with this one. It is absolutely delicious and much lighter that the full, traditional version.

I use my 16.5 inch Paella pan spanning two burners on the cooktop. I got my pan in Spain and it is the Carbon Steel version. Here is a link to pans and also here

What you need

  1. 1/4 tsp saffron threads
  2. 4 cups hot chicken broth
  3. Chopped, fresh Italian parsley
  4. Fresh lemon juice
  5. 1 Tbl Olive Oil
  6. 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  7. Sea scallops
  8. Shrimp
  9. Mahi Mahi or Tilapia or Halibut, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
  10. 1 pkg frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
  11. Olive oil
  12. 1 sweet onion, chopped
  13. Chopped red bell pepper to taste
  14. 2 fresh tomatoes, seeded & diced
  15. 1 tbl smoked sweet paprika
  16. 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  17. 1-2 tsp salt
  18. 2 cups basmati rice
  19. Asparagus spears (2-3 per person)
  20. 1 small roasted red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch by 1/4 inch strips
  21. 1 cup frozen green peas
  22. Fresh lemon wedges
  23. Fresh minced parley

How to make it

  1. Blanch asparagus spears and reserve
  2. Heat broth with saffron and keep warm
  3. Combine next 4 ingredients (parsley, 1/4 cup lemon juice, oil, garlic) and set aside.
  4. Heat olive oil in a large paella pan or very large skillet over medium heat.
  5. Sauté scallops until lightly browned on each side - remove to a bowl
  6. Sauté shrimp until pink on both sides, but not fully cooked - remove to a bowl
  7. Reduce heat to medium-low
  8. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally - do not brown.
  9. Add tomatoes, paprika and garlic and cook briefly, until aroma is fully developed.
  10. Add rice and stir to coat thoroughly.
  11. Stir in parsley blend and broth; bring to a low boil
  12. Add fish, scallops, shrimp and artichokes and cook, stirring occasionally.
  13. You may add up to another cup of water
  14. Add frozen peas
  15. With heat still on, add asparagus spears in a pattern like the spokes of a wheel
  16. Decorate with strips of roasted red pepper
  17. Sprinkle with lemon juice and remove from heat.
  18. Decorate with lemon wedges and serve.

I use about 1 cup total fresh parsley in the recipe.

Questions about this recipe?

Not the recipe you want? Enter an ingredient in the box below: