Paella with prawns and crab.

Paella with prawns and crab.
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Paella with English seafood

Lily Cook dishes up a luxurious paella with crustaceans caught off the English coast.

Lily Cook

For the sofrito

Ingredients (2 servings)
3-4 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
2 handful garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
olive oil
handful parsley, chopped

Method:

  • Cook everything together slowly on a gentle heat to form a thick, oily paste and season to taste.

For the paella

Ingredients (2 servings)
160 g paella rice (Bomba, Calasparra or Arroz de Valencia)
500 ml good quality prawn or fish stock (ideally homemade)
500 ml chicken stock (ideally homemade)
75 ml white wine
1 pinch(es) saffron
125 g brown crab meat (pre-cooked)
125 g white crab meat (pre-cooked)
1 lobster (cooked), meat removed from shell and cut up into chunks
handful cooked prawns in their shells
40 g green beans
50 g red bell pepper
Fresh parsley & lemon wedges (to serve)

Method:

  • Boil some water and use a couple of spoonfuls to infuse the saffron in a small bowl 
  • Heat up the pre-made sofrito in the paella pan, add the rice and cook for a couple of minutes 
  • Add the wine and cook until mostly evaporated
  • Add the brown crab meat, stir until combined and cook for a couple of minutes
  • Add the green beans and red pepper
  • Add 500ml stock and saffron water and ensure the rice is evenly distributed around the pan
  • Season to taste and keep the paella on low heat at a gentle simmer, otherwise the stock will evaporate before cooking the rice through
  • The rice will cook in approx. 30 mins. Monitor the rice, stir occasionally, adding more stock as needed. 
  • When the rice is almost cooked, add the white crab meat, lobster and prawns on top to warm through
  • After 10 minutes, turn the heat off and cover the paella with newspaper dampened with water, leave to stand for 10 minutes
  • Uncover and serve immediately with wedges of lemon and parsley sprinkled on top
Lily Cook
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