Discover This Iconic Dish from Spain

*Collaborative Post

Spanish gastronomy has a wide variety of dishes that perfectly blend the flavours of cereals, beef, poultry, fish, and seafood. An example of this is the worldwide renowned paella.

Paella is a dish whose main ingredients are rice and saffron and can be prepared with fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. Its ingredients will depend on the region where it is prepared or the style of paella to be made.

This iconic meal has its origins in medieval times when the Arabs conquered the Iberian Peninsula (today Spain and Portugal) and introduced rice in the city of Valencia. In those centuries, that food was called “baquia“, which means “leftovers” in the English language.

This meal, originally made with leftovers, has a mixture of flavours that makes it unique in the world

Today you will learn how to prepare a delicious seafood paella or Paella a la marinera: an exquisite dish that combines the flavours of rice and saffron with seafood such as shrimp, lobster, oysters, and crab. This time, paella will include lobster and shrimps and it will be a fantastic meal for your guests and friends.

Also, you can see an authentic seafood paella recipe too by clicking on the next link:  https://mahatmarice.com/recipes/authentic-spanish-paella-seafood/

Ingredients

• 4 small lobster tails (6-12 oz each).
• Water.
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil.
• 1 chopped large yellow onion.
• 2 cups of medium-grain rice previously soaked in water for 20 minutes.
• 2 large pinches of Spanish saffron (soak threads in ½ cup of water).
• 4 chopped garlic cloves.
• 1 tsp. of sweet paprika.
• 1 tsp. of Cayenne pepper.
• ½ tsp chili pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper.
• 1 tsp. of salt.
• 2 finely chopped large tomatoes.
• 6 oz of trimmed green beans.
• 1 lb of peeled and deveined prawns or large shrimp.
• ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley.

Instructions

1. In a large pot, place water and heat it to boiling. Add the lobster tails into the water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the lobster meat turns pink. Turn off the heat, remove the lobsters using tongs and do not discard the lobster water. When the lobster gets cool enough, remove the shell and cut its meat in chunks
2. In a large enough frying pan, add 3 tbsp. of olive oil and heat it. Sauté the onion for three minutes. Pour the previously rinsed rice and cook for 3 minutes. Put the crushed garlic cloves and the lobster cooking water and heat for 3 more minutes. Then, add the saffron along with the water rinsed paprika, Cayenne pepper, chili pepper flakes, and salt to the pan. Now, heat it for 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, and green beans. Heat to boiling without placing the lid on and allow water to reduce. Then cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes over low heat
4. After 20 cooking minutes, replace the lid and add the shrimp. Then, mix the shrimp with the rice, cover the pan and continue heating until the shrimp’s meat turns pink.
5. Finally, add the lobster chunks and cook until they get hot enough. Turn off the heat
6. Serve the portions in a deep or flat dish and garnish with finely chopped parsley on top and enjoy!

Beverage for pairing

This delicious meal can be accompanied by a magnificent Spanish wine like Albariño, Verdejo, Godello or a bottle of chilled Chardonnay. White wines are the perfect choice for this food.

More ingredients, more flavors

You can add any kind of food to make this meal a flavour fest. Some suggestions are:

• Spanish Chorizo: an excellent and delightful ingredient to complement the paella is the traditional dry Spanish chorizo. It is recommended to chop it in half-moon shapes and you can add it at step 3 of the above instructions.
• Oysters: seashells are another proper ingredient of a paella a la marinera. These oysters, clams or mussels, can be added to the pan with the joint facing upwards. In this position, the oysters will release their juice towards the rice and will give it a special flavor. It is recommended to cook them until their shells open and the shrimp acquires a pink color.
• Fish: you can substitute the lobsters for a good fish filet. You must make sure that the fish filets are well seasoned or marinated. Add them at the time of adding the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink and the fish filet gets cooked.

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