PAELLA RICE WITH FISH AND SEAFOOD (ARROZ CON PESCADO Y MARISCO)

Today we want to share with you a very nice recipe, one of our favorite ones, Fish and Seafood Rice Paella.  We cook it especially when we want to celebrate.  We hope you really enjoy it as much as we do.

Have a great weekend and start getting ready for Christmas, our favorite time of the year.

This is our recipe, specially for you:

Difficulty: Moderate
Preparation Time: 90 minutes
Serves: 4 people

INGREDIENTS:
For the Stir-fry Sauce (Sofrito):
* 1 White Onion, finely diced
* ½ Red pepper, finely diced
* 1 Green pepper, finely diced
* 2 or 3 Cloves of garlic, diced
* Extra Virgin Olive oil

For the Fish Broth (Fumet) – Yields 6 1/2 cups (1 1/2 liters):
* Shrimp shells and heads (from those used in the stew)
* 1 Small Rockfish
* ½ White Onion
* 1 Green pepper, roughly chopped
* 1 Bunch Parsley
*1 Tomato
* 6 ½ cups (1½ liters) Water

For the Paella:
* 1 1/3 Cups (250 mg) Medium or Short Grain Paella Rice (ARROZ REDONDO SABROZ o ARROZ BOMBA)
* 1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
* Some strands of saffron
* 8-9 oz. (¼ kilo) of baby squids
* 1/2 lb. (¼ kilo) of peeled king prawns (extra large shrimp—Gambónes)
* 8 unpeeled Scampi (Cigalas), to garnish the top of the paella, once we fry them
* 3 or 4 Tablespoons homemade tomato sauce
* 1 1/16 cups (125 ml) White wine
* Extra Virgin Olive oil
* Salt and ground black pepper

For the ground herbs (picada)
* 2 cloves of garlic
* Chopped parsley
* Salt
* Some Black pepper corns
* Some olive oil

Homemade Garlic Sauce:
*    1 egg
*    1 Clove of garlic
*    Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*    Chopped Parsley
*    Juice from half a lemon
*    Salt

WAY OF COOKING:

* To start with, we are going to prepare the fish stock.  Add to a cooking pot 6½ cups (1½ liters) water, the rock fish, the shells and heads of the shrimp (king prawns), the onion and the roughly chopped green pepper, the parsley and the tomato.  We let it boil for half an hour. We strain the broth and set aside for later.

* Then we are going to prepare the Stir-fry sauce (Sofrito), and in the paella pan we add some olive oil and we are going to sauté lightly for 2 minutes per side the Scampi, two per person, that we set aside to decorate our seafood paella. Remove from the pan and we keep them for decorating.

* We add the finely diced (brunoise style) onion and sauté it, and then the diced cloves of garlic. Now we add the finely diced (brunoise style) green and red pepper too.  We add the tomato sauce, sauté it for 10 minutes and we add the sweet paprika and the saffron threads. We stir it a bit.

* Then, it is the moment to add the cleaned baby squids (puntillitas or chopitos) to the stir-fry. During cleaning ensure the quill is removed.  We then stir it and add the White wine.  We cook on Medium Heat for a while so that the alcohol evaporates and then add 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the fish broth.  We keep on cooking until the squid gets tender or for about 15 minutes.

* After this time we add the rice, which we have previously slightly toasted in a pan, we stir it and then add 2 ½ cups (675 ml) of broth.  We let the rice cook for 10 minutes on High heat.  As the broth begins to boil, add the peeled shrimp and then we put the paella pan into a preheated oven at 355 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 10 more minutes.  Then we take it out of the oven and let it rest (we cover with aluminium foil until we take it to the table).

* While the paella is in the oven, we’re going to prepare the homemade garlic sauce, which you’ll love even with the paella, and then the ground herbs.

* For the homemade garlic sauce, add the egg, the clove of garlic, the salt and juice from half a lemon to a hand mixing cup or blender.  Add a stream of olive oil as you blend, a total of about 1 cup (250 ml), using an electric hand blender or blend in the blender until the mixture thickens and stiffens. Serve in a separate dish to accompany the paella.

* For the ground herbs, we are going to use a mortar and pestle to grind all the ingredients.  Once the paella is removed from the oven, add the ground herb mixture, spread it on the stew and we stir it a bit, to distribute the flavor.  You’ll see what great flavors the herbs will give to the paella once all the ingredients are mixed together.  Garnish on top with the previously grilled scampi.

And ready to sit down at the table and enjoy this great dish that we are certain that you will love.