Seafood or Vegetarian Paella

If you are a fan of seafood, don't let this pass you by. I was always under the impression paella was difficult to make, and yeah... there are a lot of steps involved. However, it is more than worth it. 

One crucial aspect of any good paella is sofrito sauce.

I found an amazing recipe for it on FinestChef:

Sofrito Sauce: 
2 cups diced tomatoes,
1 cup of my basic tomato sauce
1 cup chopped onion,
2 Tbsp. olive oil,
3 Tbsp. paprika,
3 oz. saffron extract,
50 ml. dry white wine.




You will need:

• Ideally, a Valencian dish or skillet
• 2 cups of Calasparra rice
• 2 vegetable (or chicken) stock cubes in a cup of hot water
• 1 1/4 cups of sofrito sauce
• A splash of olive oil 
• 2 and and a half cups of steamed vegetables - I used peas, baby carrots and capsicum (bell peppers) but any other vegetables you would like to add, go ahead.
• 1/3 of a cup of white wine (Albarino or Verdejo)
• 1 finely diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• lemon for garnish
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of saffron threads

For Seafood Paella:

• Add any seafood you like: gambas, lobster, crab, shrimp, crayfish, mussels, etc

1. Steam your vegetables
2. Deshell the gambas
3. Wash all of your seafood well
4. Toast the saffron in a saucepan for 30 seconds and crush the threads
5. Make a seafood broth by placing the shelled shrimp in 2 & 1/2 cups of boiling water. After 10 minutes, remove the shells and stir in the saffron and salt, add your chicken or vegetable stock blocks
6. Pour olive oil in your Valencian dish or large skillet and let your onions and garlic simmer
7.  Cover the dish with rice
8. Add the seafood broth and mix
9. Let simmer with a cover for 10 minutes
10. Add the sofrito sauce and place your vegetables and seafood on the pan. Do not stir from here. 
11. Let simmer until your seafood and rice are fully cooked
12. Serve with lemon

For Vegetarian Paella

1. Steam the vegetables and set aside
2. Toast the saffron in a saucepan for 30 seconds and crush the threads
3. Mix the saffron with your vegetable stock cubes
4. Pour olive oil in your Valencian dish or large skillet and let your onions and garlic simmer
5. Cover the dish with rice
6. Pour over the saffron and stock water and let the rice cook for about 10 minutes
7. Add the sofrito sauce and add your vegetables
8. Let the rice cook 
9. Serve with lemon