Quick Paella With Shrimp Mussels Recipes

QUICK AND EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• Cook and stir reserved shrimp shells and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until shells are pink and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir saffron into shells; add chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until broth is a rusty brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
• Strain saffron broth through a fine-mesh sieve; measure out 2 cups of broth, pour into a small saucepan, and place over low heat to keep broth hot.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Cook chorizo slices in hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add onion to sausage; cook and stir until soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Stir garlic into chorizo mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice to skillet and stir to coat rice completely in oil; stir in peas.
• Pat rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over the top of the rice. Lay pepper strips around and in between shrimp; season with salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
• Increase heat to high. When rice begins to sizzle in the skillet, pour reserved 2 cups hot saffron broth over the shrimp; gently shake the skillet to distribute liquid.
• Bake rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is almost tender and still a bit wet, about 20 minutes.
• Place skillet over medium-high and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and rice caramelizes and crusts slightly on the bottom of the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes.

SUNNY'S EASY MUSSELS AND SHRIMP PAELLA POUCHES

Steps:

• For the seafood: Combine the olive oil, paprika, garlic, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. Combine the frozen mussels and shrimp (still frozen) in a large bowl and drizzle the mixture over the top. Toss the seafood to evenly coat.
• For the pouches: Lay four 16- to 20-inch-long pieces of nonstick aluminum foil out on a flat surface and top each one with a piece of parchment paper the same size. Divide the ingredients equally amongst each pouch, starting with the onions in the center of each in a 3-by-5-inch rectangle. Top the onions with the tomato halves, a pinch of salt, rice, peas, then seafood. To close, pull the long sides up over the mixture to meet and fold down together leaving some room for steam (about an inch above your pile), then close the short ends and fold upwards for easy opening.
• Set the oven or grill to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange the pouches on a baking sheet if using the oven, just in case you have a tiny spill. Bake or place the pouches over the indirect heat and cook for 25 minutes. Remove one and open gently; if the mussels are not open and the shrimp are still a bit underdone, close and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove the pouches, and, when cool enough to handle, open and spritz with lemon and garnish with parsley.

QUICK PAELLA

Steps:

• In a straight-sided, 10-inch pan, heat the olive oil over a medium flame. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the white wine and tomato puree and reduce the liquid by two-thirds, about 8 minutes.
• Add the smoked paprika and saffron, along with the bay leaf. Fold in the rice and make a bed for the seafood to sit on. Add the mussels, clams and shrimp and season again. Cover the pan, turn the heat to high and cook until the shellfish is finished and the bottom of the pan has started to caramelize the rice, about 5 minutes. This is a challenging step and is based on timing.
• Finish the paella with fresh parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.