Weeknight Seafood Paella

seafood paella with octopus in a paella pan garnished with sliced lemon

This Weeknight Seafood Paella recipe offers a quick completion of a classic Spanish dish, perfect for busy evenings. Made with a mix of shrimp, white fish, and optional marinated canned octopus, it's a satisfying one-pan meal that goes from oven to table. The recipe is versatile, and meant for you to experiment with ingredients you have on hand. Cook indoors on top of a large stovetop or outside on your grill.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: comfort, easy, grains, healthy, quick, seafood, versatile, weeknight

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Resting Time: 10

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 425kcal

Author: juiceofsevenlemons

Cost: $22

Equipment

small bowl for marinating canned octopus
seafood scissors
Medium saucepan from making stock
Paella pan 12"

Ingredients

Make Ahead Marinated Canned Octopus

1 can octopus drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon garlic minced or crushed
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
parsley optional, finely chopped

Shrimp Stock Base

4 1/2 cups water
shrimp shells from peeled shrimp in paella recipe below
2 teaspoons chicken bullion optional
1 teaspoon sea salt

Paella

1/2 pound shrimp deveined and peeled, shells reserved
3/4 small onion
1 small red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
8 ounces frozen artichokes optional
2 teaspoons garlic
14 ounce can of tomatoes diced or crushed
1 1/4 cup paella rice
1 pinch saffron
4 cups seafood/shrimp broth or water see above
1/2 pound white fish cut into large pieces
marinated octopus optional, see ingredients above
1/2 cup frozen green peas optional
1/2 lemon, sliced optional
chopped parsley for garnish

Makes: 12inch round

Instructions

Marinate the Canned Octopus

After rinsing the octopus, marinate it in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs for at least an hour or a few hours in the refrigerator (eg: the morning of). This can be done at the beginning of meal prep as well.

Prep Shrimp & Make Stock

Rinse, devein and peel the shrimp, reserving the shells in a medium saucepan. You may have to rinse the shrimp a few times if they are really frozen to be able to devein and peel. Seafood scissors work best.
Add about cups water to the saucepan with a small bay leaf, salt, and chicken bullion.
Let the stock simmer while you prepare your other paella ingredients, about 10-15 minutes.

Mise en Place (while stock is cooking)

Dice the onion (about 1/2-3/4 cup worth).
Chop the bell pepper (about 1/2-3/4 cup worth).
Chop the artichokes.
Dice garlic.
Open the can of tomatoes.
Chop the white fish.
Add oil to the paella pan and begin to heat.

Cook the Paella

Add diced onions to the oil over medium-high heat and sauté until almost translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
Add chopped bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the smoked paprika and mix to incorporate.
Mix in artichokes and garlic.
Stir in the canned tomatoes and let simmer for about 5 more minutes.
While the tomatoes are simmering, drain your stock. The stock should have slightly reduced to around 4 cups, add saffron to the warm liquid. If you use store-bought broth or water, warm it and add saffron to bloom.
Pour the paella rice into the tomato mixture and incorporate it well.
Slowly add the broth to the paella. Make sure the rice is evenly distributed. After this point DO NOT stir the rice. Let the mixture cook for 10-15 minutes.
Slightly press your selection of seafood (white fish, shrimp, and octopus) into the mixture, evenly distributing it throughout the pan. The seafood should not touch the bottom of the pan nor be submerged in the rice. It should sit nestled into the top of the rice.
When the liquid is absorbed (about 10-15 more minutes) remove the pan from the heat.

Rest and Serve

Scatter the frozen peas around the top of the dish to allow them to warm.
Gently cover the paella with foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Garnish with lemon slices and parsley and serve table-side directly from the pan.

Notes

This paella recipe can be customized with your favorite seafood and vegetables.
Don't skip marinating the canned octopus for added flavor.
Adding a douse of nice quality Spanish olive oil is an excellent way to finish the dish table-side.
Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated for a quick lunch or dinner the next day.

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