Paella Stew
with rice / shrimp / mussels
Paella is a popular Spanish rice dish made with fresh seafood, but it can be time-consuming to prepare. This recipe uses all those great Spanish flavors (and the seafood!) and folds them into this weeknight friendly stew that can be made in just a fraction of the time. This meal was last featured in 2022.
Smarts: Mussels are quick-cooking shellfish, but feel free to skip them if you're looking to simplify (or use pre-cooked sausage as a substitute).
Ingredients
- Rice, uncooked white or brown - 1 cup
- Shrimp, peeled and deveined - 3/4 lb
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1 tsp
- Dried saffron (opt) - 1/4 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
- Garlic - 3 cloves , chopped
- Bell peppers, red - 1 , chopped
- Onions, medium - 1 , chopped
- Carrots - 8 oz , chopped
- Mussels, cleaned and debearded (opt) - 3/4 lb (sub pre-cooked or smoked sausage, sliced)
- Peas, frozen - 1 cup
- Green onions - 2 stalks , chopped, green and white parts combined
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
- Stock, any type - 3 cups
- Wine, white - 1 cup (any dry variety; sub stock)
- Tomatoes, diced and preferably fire-roasted (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can
- Bay leaves - 2
- Lemon juice - 3 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
Prep
-
Shrimp - Defrost, rinse, and pat dry.
-
Rice - (Skip if made ahead for Monday.) For white rice, rinse until clear. Fill a saucepan or Dutch oven (or rice cooker) with rice, water (use 2:1 ratio for water to rice), and some salt. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once water boils, stir, lower heat to a low-medium, and cover. Check white rice after ~20 min; brown at ~45 min. Rice is done when it's absorbed all the water. If it's not done, leave the cover on until all water has been absorbed. Take cover off to release steam and fluff with a wooden spoon after 5 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Make paella spice mix - Combine salt, paprika, oregano, saffron, and red pepper flakes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Garlic / Bell peppers / Onions / Carrots - Prep as directed. Store garlic in one container. Combine bell peppers, onions, and carrots in another container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
-
Mussels - Clean and debeard mussels (this is usually done by your fishmonger, but in the rare case that yours did not come debearded, here’s a demo from The Kitchn). Scrub and soak in a bowl of water. If using sausage as a substitute, slice sausage. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
-
Peas - Defrost if frozen.
-
Green onions - Prep as directed.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
-
Heat a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add oil and then bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Saute until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and spice mix and saute for 1 minute more.
-
Pour stock, wine, and tomatoes (including liquid) over vegetables. Add bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
-
Add mussels (or sausage) to soup and cover. Cook until mussels have opened up, 5 to 6 minutes. (If any mussels don’t open, simply discard them.)
-
Add shrimp and peas to the soup. Put the lid back on and continue cooking until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes more.
-
If rice was made ahead, warm it in the microwave.
-
Turn off the heat under the soup. Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice. Taste and season with some salt and pepper and some more lemon juice if you’d like.
-
Divide rice between bowls. Ladle paella soup over top. Serve with green onions and yogurt. Enjoy!
Reviews
Ratings
0 reviews