Paula Wolfert

Paella with Shellfish and Artichokes

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Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Complex

  • Serves

    8

Appears in

top 1000The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2003

  • About

I created this paella recipe after visiting Alicante in southern Spain. It’s not nearly so daring or inventive as some of the “new paellas” being served in Spain today, but it’s been much appreciated when I’ve served it to my guests. I prepare it with fresh tuna, shrimp, mussels, and artichokes simmered in a saffron and paprika-infused broth, using time-honored paella cooking techniques.

Ingredients

  • 1 red (bell) pepper
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 pound tuna steak, cut into 1½ -inch cubes
  • 8 large shrimp
  • 1 large ancho chile
  • ⅓ cup dry white wine
  • 1 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
  • 1¼ cups canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons Spanish smoked pimentón or sweet paprika
  • 2 pinches of saffron threads
  • 6 to 8 cups fish stock, or 2 packages (8 ounces each) frozen fish fumet diluted with 4 cups water (see Note on adding shrimp shells for a more flavorful fumet)
  • 1 package (9 ounces) frozen artichoke hearts, cut into 1 - inch pieces
  • 8 scallion(s), cut into 1½- inch lengths
  • 2 cups short- to medium-grain rice, preferably bomba
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Method

  1. Roast the red bell pepper under a preheated broiler, turning, until charred. Transfer the pepper to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam for 5 minutes. Peel the roasted pepper, discarding the core, ribs, and seeds; cut the pepper into 1 - inch pieces.
  2. Salt the tuna cubes and the shrimp and let stand for 30 minutes; pat dry with paper towels. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, cover the ancho chile with 1 cup boiling water and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes; drain. Discard the stem and seeds and coarsely chop the chile.
  3. Bring the wine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the mussels, cover, and cook over high heat until they begin to open, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a bowl. Pull off and discard the empty top shells, leaving the mussels on the half-shell. Season the mussels with pepper and cover with foil; reserve the cooking liquid.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped ancho chile and the garlic. Cook over moderately high heat until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pimentón, saffron, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Transfer to a food processor and puree to a coarse paste.
  5. In a medium saucepan, bring the fish stock to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and maintain at a simmer. In an 18 - inch paella pan or a very large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the tuna and shrimp and cook over moderately high heat, tossing, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover. Add the artichokes and scallions to the pan and cook over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the ancho-tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 4 cups of the fish stock, the reserved mussel cooking liquid, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.
  6. Scatter the rice evenly into the pan and stir. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook for 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add another 3 to 3½ cups of simmering stock and cook, shaking the pan and rotating it for even cooking, until the liquid has evaporated again, about 10 minutes longer. Just before the rice is done, during the last 10 minutes of cooking, gently press the roasted red pepper, mussels, shrimp, and tuna into the paella with the back of a spoon. Continue cooking, shaking the pan, until the rice is just tender but still a bit moist.
  7. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a kitchen towel or paper towels and a foil tent. Let the paella rest for about 10 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. Copyright © 2003 by Paula Wolfert. Photographs copyright © by Christopher Hirsheimer. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.