How to Make the Perfect Seafood Paella at Home: Recipe and Tips

🛒 Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 400g bomba rice
• 800ml seafood broth (fumet)
• 200g shrimp
• 200g squid
• 150g mussels
• 1 grated tomato
• 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 packet of saffron
• Olive oil 
•  Salt to taste

1️⃣ Preparing the Ingredientss

🦐 Shrimp: Clean and peel them. Set aside the shells for the broth.

🦪 Mussels: If fresh, soak them in water and salt to remove any sand.

2️⃣ Preparing the Seafood Broth (Extra Step, but Recommended)

If you don’t have seafood broth, you can use fish stock, but making it at home will make a big difference.

🔥 How to make a good seafood broth:

1. Heat a pot with olive oil and sauté the shrimp shells.
2. 💡 Tip: Press the shells with a spoon to extract all their flavor.
3. Add water and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, let it cook for 20 minutes, then strain it.

3️⃣ The Sofrito: The Foundation of Flavor

1. Add olive oil to the paella pan and sauté the chopped red bell pepper.
2. Add the chopped garlic and grated tomato.
3. 💡 Tip: A splash of white wine helps balance the acidity of the tomato.

4. ⚠ Note: Do not add salt yet—everything has its time.

4️⃣ Adding and Sautéing the Rice

1. Add the rice directly to the sofrito.
2. Sauté it for 2 minutes, until lightly golden and infused with flavor.

5️⃣ Cooking the Paella: The Key Technique

📌 The perfect formula: Twice as much broth as rice (e.g., 400g of rice → 800ml of broth).

🔄 Stir the rice only once, about 2 minutes after adding the broth. After that, DO NOT touch it again.

🔥 Cook on low heat and let the liquid evaporate naturally.

🧂 When to add salt? In the first few minutes after adding the rice. At the end of cooking, sprinkling it over the top. (Even if it doesn’t seem like it, this is the ideal moment!)

⏳ How to Know When the Paella is Ready

🍚 There is no exact cooking time for the rice since it depends on the heat and the pan. Test it with a small spoon, tasting both the top and the bottom.

🔥 If you love socarrat (the crispy toasted layer at the bottom), leave the paella on the heat for 2–3 extra minutes after all the liquid has evaporated.

ℹ️ Final Tips for a Perfect Paella

✅ The type of heat is key: gas works best, while glass-ceramic stovetops tend to make the rice more brothy.

✅ Don't stir the rice too much: only at the beginning, so it doesn’t release starch and cooks properly.

✅ Practice makes perfect: every paella will turn out better!