This is a recipe for a delicious, flavorful but not so traditional paella. This paella is made with red rice, seafood and chorizo. It’s both flavorful, warming, delicious and easy to make. Make this paella for a delicious weekend dinner, for meal prep purposes or in a large batch when having friends or family over for dinner.
Paella originated from Valencia in Spain, which is one of the biggest rice-producing areas in Spain. It’s a bit hard to say what a “traditional” paella is, because there are so many different varieties and ingredients to used when making a paella. But the dish originated from the farmers or farm workers food that was cooked over a wood fire for lunch. The main ingredient was rice and any other vegetables and meat they had at hand. It could be anything from onion, beans and tomatoes to rabbit, duck, snails and chicken. Since Valencia is located by the sea seafood has been added to the dish throughout the history, but seafood was never part of the original or traditional recipe. Also saffron is a very common spice to use when making paella. The original way of eating a paella is straight from the pan in which it was cooked with everyone using their own spoon to eat it. And therefore Im calling my paella a non traditional paella! This paella is made with red rice instead of white and including red bell pepper, tomatoes, chorizo and seafood. It’s not a traditional recipe but its still very delicious and tasty, feeling both fresh, filling and flavorful at the same time. Serve this paella as a weeknight dinner, make it for meal prep purposes or make a big batch when having friends and family over.
A few tips:
- I used red rice when making my paella. But you can sub it for any other rice that you like or prefer.
- Make sure to keep an eye on the paella while its cooking and adding more water if needed.
- You can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper according to taste.
- I fried my prawns before adding them to the paella pan, but you can skip that part if you prefer non fried prawns.
- Make sure not to fry the scallops for too long. They should have a nice fried surface but still be “al-dente” on the inside.
Ingredients for this Red Rice Seafood Paella:
- Red rice
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Red bell pepper
- Paprika powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Saffron
- Vegetables stock powder
- Lemon
- Prawns
- Scallops
- Mussles
- Chorizo
- Water
- Parsley
Other recipes you might like:
- Moule Mariner with Garlic, Chili & Ginger (Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
- Fish & Seafood Soup
- Seafood Pasta (Gluten, Dairy Free & Low Carb)
- Bánh Xèo – Crispy Vietnamese Pancakes (Gluten Free)
Red Rice Seafood Paella
Ingredients
- 2 dl Red rice
- 1 Yellow onion finely diced
- 1 Garlic clove minced
- 2 Tomatoes diced
- 1/2 Red bell pepper diced
- 1 tsp Paprika powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp Saffron
- 1 tsp Vegetable stock powder
- 1/2 Lemon juiced
- 8 Prawns
- 5 Scallops
- Mussles, to taste
- 1 Chorizo sliced
- 1 dl Water
- Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a pan with some olive oil.
- Star by frying the yellow onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Next add the red bell pepper and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Fry for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the red rice, paprika powder, cayenne pepper and saffron and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the water and vegetables stock powder and put a lid over the pan. Let it shimmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Add more water if needed.
- When about 7-8 minute remain for the rice to be ready add the mussles to the pan and peaheat a nonstick pan over medium heat.
- Fry the sliced chorizo until golden brown then add it to the paella pan.
- Next fry the prawns for about 1-2 minutes on each side. When ready add to the pan. (Or skip this step and add to the pan right away at let them steam).
- Fry the scallops for 1/2-1 minute on each side.
- Drizzle the lemon juice over the paella and stir to combine.
- Add the scallops on top and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Serve warm.