Author: Olivia Muniak
1 lb shrimp (shelled & deveined)
½ lb squid (tubes & tentacles)
½ lb mussels (scrubbed & debearded)
½ lb clams (scrubbed & rinsed)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 pinches of saffron threads
1 tsp cumin
1.5 cups of Bomba rice
1.5 cups of dry white wine
4 cups of seafood stock
1 bunch of Italian parsley, roughly chopped
*Olive oil, sea salt and flaky sea salt for cooking
Optional
Lemon wedges for serving
Aioli with extra garlic & lemon zest, for serving
The way I cook paella is a bit different than most recipes, but each of these steps ensures a perfectly cooked, flavor-packed paella.
First, cook the mussels & clams. In a mid-size pot with a lid, drizzle a bit of oil and sweat half the onion and garlic in it with a pinch of salt. Add ¾ of a cup of wine until the mixture is bubbling. Then, add the mussels and clams to the pot, cover, and reduce the heat. Once the mussels and clams have opened, about 6 mins, remove from the heat, toss with a small handful of chopped parsley and set aside uncovered.
In a separate small pot, pour the seafood stock with the saffron threads and allow to warm on a low heat. Using a paella pan, heat the pan with olive oil and par-cook the squid with a pinch of salt, remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat the step with the shrimp. Keep the shrimp, squid and mussels separate as they are placed in the paella rice at different times.
Cook the rice next. Sauté the onions, bell pepper and garlic in the paella pan with olive oil and a pinch of salt until the onions are translucent. Stir the rice in to incorporate with the onion mixture, then add the tomato paste, smoked paprika, and cumin, and continue to stir until the rice is fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour a ladle full of the saffron-infused seafood stock into the rice mixture and stir. Repeat this process until the rice is about halfway cooked (the grains will still have some white flecks). Add the squid back to the rice and stir, then add the remaining white wine to the mixture, continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated, and repeat by adding saffron-infused seafood stock. Some rice will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan—it’s called "soccarat!"
Once the rice is al dente (about 85% cooked), add another ladle or two of saffron-infused seafood stock, and arrange the mussels, clams and shrimp on the pan of rice (I like to arrange them in a pattern). Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil and allow it to rest under a very low heat for 5 minutes. The stock should be fully absorbed and the rice cooked through (not mushy).
Garnish the paella with chopped parsley and flaky sea salt, and serve with lemon wedges and a drizzle of lemony aioli.
Want to learn more about how Olivia prepares for a paella dinner party? Check our her top 6 tips here!
A self-taught chef who grew up in a New York City restaurant family, Olivia Muniak creates enchanting food-focused events for clients like Nike, Stella McCartney, Moët Hennessy and Laura Mercier and has developed custom content and recipes for fashion and lifestyle and brands including Jenni Kayne and Anthropologie.
Her popular blog and IG feed is an ever evolving compendium of what she’s cooking and a shoppable edit of her favorite kitchen and entertaining essentials.
Her entertaining philosophy is deceptively simple: Settings should be candle-lit, evenings always begin with a cocktail, and the conversation around the table should be as delectable and inspired as the food.
In a word? Magic.
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