Seafood Paella with Cuttlefish Recipe

The seafood paella is a typical dish of the coastal towns of Spain, very popular among its people and increasingly, also among foreigners. And it is that nobody can resist a good seafood paella with cuttlefish and even less, if it is homemade.

That’s why we want to share this quick and easy seafood paella recipe. Do not be scared by the number of steps there are because in reality, it is easier to do than it seems. Don’t waste any more time and encourage yourself to prepare the best seafood paella for a Sunday with the family!

Ingredients to make Seafood Paella with cuttlefish:

1. ¾ kilogram of rock mussels
2. ½ kilogram of Clams
3. 250 grams of Cuttlefish
4. 250 grams of Norway lobster
5. 250 grams of Prawns
6. 4 garlic cloves
7. 1 green pepper
8. 1 tomato
9. 5 small cups of Rice
10. 15 small glasses of Water
11. 1 envelope of Prepared for paella
12. 20 Saffron (threads)
13. Oil
14. Salt

How to make Seafood Paella with cuttlefish:

• To make this seafood and cuttlefish paella, the first thing we have to do is gather all the necessary ingredients.
• Next, wash and cut the pepper into small pieces, and peel and cut the garlic into slices. Then take a clay pot or any other deep container where you are going to make your seafood paella step by step and place a little oil and fry the green pepper and garlic.
• Then clean and scrape the shell of the mussels well under running water to remove all the dirt it may have and then, take a pot, put the clean mussels in and turn up the heat so that they open and they are all cooked.
• Tip: If there are any open mussels before cooking them, it is better to discard them because they may not be good and give the seafood paella a bad taste.
• Now do the same with the clams: clean them under running tap water so that all the dirt they may have is gone and put them on the fire in a pot to cook.
• When both the mussels and the clams have opened, remove them from the pot, remove the useless shell and reserve them for later. But don’t throw away the cooking water! It is better that you strain it through a strainer to avoid having grit and also reserve it for later adding it to the cuttlefish and prawns paella along with the water.
• Tip: The mollusk water will give a special touch to our seafood paella.
• While the mussels and clams are cooking, you can clean the cuttlefish. Then cut it into small pieces and add the cuttlefish to the pan for the seafood paella. Sauté it for a few minutes. The cuttlefish can be fresh or frozen, but in this case the one I have used has been frozen.
• Tip: If you also use frozen cuttlefish for the seafood paella, make sure you thaw it before putting it in the pot.
• Once the cuttlefish has been sautéed, add the prawns and langoustines to the pot of the seafood paella, previously washed. If you want you can also cut their whiskers and eyes as I have done. Fry them for a few minutes with the whole set.
• Tip: I use frozen prawns and langoustines, but you can also use fresh seafood for your seafood and cuttlefish paella.
• Next, cut in half and grate the tomato using a cheese grater. Add it to the pot of the cuttlefish and prawn paella and fry it for a few minutes with all the other ingredients.
• Then add the mussels and cooked clams and mix with the other shellfish. In a good seafood paella, shellfish must shine by their presence.
• Then add the corresponding glasses of water along with the glasses of cooking water for the shellfish. Remember that for each glass of rice, you have to add 3 glasses of water, so since I am going to use 5 glasses of rice, I am going to add 13 glasses of water + the 2 more that have come out of the cooking water for the shellfish.. In total 15 glasses for this step-by-step seafood paella. Turn up the heat to the maximum.
• When the water starts to boil, add the corresponding cups of rice. I have used 5 glasses for 4 people because in my family we like to repeat the dish but with 4 glasses of rice it would be enough to make a good paella with seafood and cuttlefish for 4 people. Cook the rice on high heat at first for about 7-8 minutes.
• Now add the packet of preparation for paella and the saffron threads that will give a delicious flavor to our seafood paella step by step.
• Tip: If you don’t have any of these 2 ingredients, you can also use food coloring and salt in your paella.
• When the 7-8 minutes have passed, lower the heat to a minimum and continue cooking the rice for the seafood paella, allowing the water to be consumed little by little. Stir from time to time and little by little if you want a little rice stuck to the bottom of the pot with its characteristic toasted flavor.
• Once the rice cooking time has passed (in total about 15-16 minutes) let the cuttlefish and prawn paella rest with a cloth on top for about 2 or 3 more minutes with the heat off.
• And ready! We can now enjoy our homemade seafood and cuttlefish paella! If you want, you can add a little lemon on top of the rice to savor it even more and accompany the easy seafood paella with a tomato, onion and tuna salad, for example. Take advantage!