Seafood Paella with Lobster

Jul 25, 2020

Ahh, Spain. From party-loving Barcelona, mountainous and exotic Basque country, all the way down to syncretic, sun-drenched Andalusia, Spain's varied culture, climate, and terrain, coupled with an almost religious reverence for tasty food, make Spanish food one of the most distinctive and divine culinary expressions in the world. Here at eku Box, we decided to give these delicacies a one-way, first-class ticket to your door with our Spanish Paella and Tapas Gourmet Gift Box. A traditionally made paella pan from Spain is included along with the best imported Spanish ingredients to make a briny and bountiful seafood paella with crispy Socorrat.

Paella originated in Valencia Spain and was a dish that was traditionally eaten at lunchtime by laborers in the field. Originally Valencian paella was made with seafood, then it evolved to include whatever meat or seafood that was on hand. Tomatoes, onions, artichokes, saffron and beans or a combination there-of made it more interesting and savory. Traditionally paella was made in a large carbon steel pan. It was generally eaten right out of the pan, each person armed with their own wooden spoon.

There are endless varieties of this dish. My recipe for paella includes a variety of seafood. You can substitute the seafood with chicken and sausage, or you can mix your meats and seafood.

Everything you need to make this recipe is in our Spanish Paella & Tapas Gift Box - just add seafood. Perfect to send to yourself so you have everything you need, or send it to someone special. It makes an amazing gift!

Paula’s Seafood Paella
from the Spanish Paella & Tapas Gourmet Gift Box - ekubox.com | Serves 4 to 8 depending on what is served with the dish. Serves 4 to 6 huge servings. If you add an appetizers / tapas to the meal, it will easily serve 8.

1 large sweet onion
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz of chorizo sausage, chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1⁄2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon pimento dulce sweet smoked paprika
1 big pinch saffron threads
1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups Bomba paella rice
4 cups rich chicken broth or fish broth
12 large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
12 clams, scrubbed
2 6 oz lobster tails, shell on, halved lengthwise
1 cup petite thawed frozen peas
1 cup artichoke bottoms or whole small
artichokes, cut in quarters
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add shrimp and lobster. Season with salt
and pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side, until the shrimp just turns pink and
lobster shell turns red. The shellfish should be very undercooked. Remove from pan, transfer to
a bowl and reserve.

Add remaining oil to pan and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic, red peppers and chorizo. Cook until peppers are tender.

Add chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, paprika and
saffron. Sauté for a few minutes. Add wine. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add rice and coat grains well with tomato-onion mixture.

Add 3 1⁄2 cups hot chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Stir well and spread the rice out
evenly over the pan. Cook rice on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Top rice mixture with mussels and clams. Tuck them into the rice. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

When 10 minutes are up, add shrimp, lobster and reserved juice, peas and artichokes.

If the rice seems a bit dry, add the remaining 1⁄2 cup chicken broth. Cover with foil and cook 7 minutes.

When the 7 minutes are up, all the clams and mussels should be open and lobster cooked. If
not, give it a few more minutes on the stove. Then turn the heat up for 30 seconds to toast the
bottom of the rice. This toasting of the rice is called socorrat. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 7 minutes. Remove foil cover.