Joanne's Savory Summary - Seafood Paella

Amazing Seafood Paella!

First let me start by saying this is hands down my favorite recipe we've made so far.  I absolutely love seafood in general and loved how warm this meal made me feel.  Perfect for the winter.  It also reminded me of the summer I spent in Spain where paella was a staple in my diet.  The saffron threads, the key ingredient, gave it a signature flavor distinguishing it from any other stew or rice based dish. 

David and I had his parents over for dinner on Sunday so I thought this would be a perfect one pot meal.  I gathered all of ingredients at Wegman's on our weekly shopping trip.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the ingredients were readily available.  I got the chorizo through the deli department in a huge hunk which I chopped down later.  The seafood department had all the seafood I needed and I was able to breeze through my list.  However, this recipe was expensive!  While this was my favorite meal, it was by far the most expensive and I think will only be reserved for a special occasion.  Or at least until seafood goes on sale. 

Paella Ingredients

I did all of my chopping and prep work before my in-laws arrived so I could relax with them for awhile.  I de-shelled and de-veined the shrimp, chopped up the chicken and chorizo and sliced and diced all of my veggies.  Since I couldn't find a premade seafood stock I had to buy a small kit to make it which was basically putting a dollup of the seafood stock ingredient into boiling water until it dissolved.  To make my sofregit I finally (finally!) got proper tomato paste, the good old reliable canned type.  I made this before my in-laws arrived as well.  All of the prep went a long way to cut down my cooking time away from our guests.

Dinner is served!

Finally after about an hour of nibbling on cheese and wine and catching up, I decided to start dinner.  It really took no time at all.  I was able to easily follow the recipe.  I used my dutch oven and loved the results.  I was able to put together the entire meal in about a half hour of cooking time.  The whole house smelled fantastic too.


Everyone really enjoyed this dish, even my father in law who isn't normally a huge fan of shellfish.  David took some for lunch yesterday and said it was just as good and maybe even better the second day!.  I will definitely be making this dish again for special occasions or guests.

Happy Eating!
Joanne