Try this Spanish Seafood Stew with Yellow Rice, bursting in Mediterranean flavor of seafood, spicy chorizo, vegetables, white wine, smoked paprika and spices. It is hearty, aromatic and delicious that will be devoured in no time.
When I make this Spanish Seafood Stew, it reminds me of Cioppino and Seafood Paella. Some ingredients are similar but cooked differently.
Use smoked paprika as it adds so much flavor and aroma to this dish. If you are not familiar with this spice, start with a small amount about 1/2 teaspoon. Once you have deglazed the pan and before adding seafood, taste and see if you need to add more. The smokiness of this spice can be overpowering if you use too much. You can use regular paprika but you are missing out on the authentic Mediterranean taste. If you ask me, No, don’t use a regular paprika.
Add any seafood or fish you like or you have on hand. I am using shrimp, clams, calamari or small squid, mussels, and crabs. Other options are cod, sea bass, halibut, haddock and scallops.
This recipe calls for chorizo. If using Spanish chorizo, remove the casing. I used raw spicy chorizo that I got from Sprouts and it is delicious. The spiciness of the chorizo adds another layer of flavor to this stew.
Tips in Making Spanish Seafood Stew
This is a one pan dish except for the rice. I’ll be cooking the seafood similar to how I make paella. Boil the crab until half cook. Remove crabs and if there’s liquid in the pan, don’t discard it. Set them aside in platter or tray. On the same pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, brown the uncooked spicy chorizo. If using Spanish chorizo, just run it through but no need to brown it since it is already cook. Set aside in the platter. Half cook seafood individually. Place them separately in the platter with the other ingredients. It doesn’t take that long to half cook the seafood, all these ingredients will be incorporated in the stew to continue cooking.
I like doing it this way since a fond of delicious flavor will be sticking on the pan. Once you make the stew and add the liquid and wine, the pan is deglazed. Those bits and pieces of brown stuff will add tremendous flavor to this seafood stew.
Spicy chorizo & seafood cooked initially before making stew. The brown stuff sticking on pan makes a more tastier stew.
Pan is deglazed. All the brown stuff sticking on pan adds a fond of flavor to the stew.
It might feel like it’s too much work, when you can just add all the seafood at once when you make the stew. You can, but it is more flavorful when deglazing those brown stuff in the pan.
For broth, use clam juice or shrimp stock. I always keep frozen shrimp stock so it is ready whenever I need it. Otherwise, just use water since you will continue cooking the half-cooked seafood. It will release its juices thus adding more flavor.
For the rice, I use the Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice. Just follow the cooking instructions on the package.
Would You Like to Try Other Seafood Dish?
Spanish Seafood Stew with Yellow Rice and Spicy Chorizo
Ingredients
- 1 pound large head-less shrimp unpeeled
- ½ pound small squid with head cleaned and cut
- 5 pieces clams washed and cleaned
- 10 pieces mussels wash and cleaned
- 1 to 2 pieces crabs cut in half after half-cooked
- ½ pound spicy chorizo no casing
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 big carrot diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh or dry rosemary
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups shrimp broth or clam juice or water
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 can garbanzos drained
- 3 tablespoons Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 9 oz, 255g package Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice
Instructions
- Cook rice in a pot. Bring 2 ¼ cups of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and a package of Vigo yellow rice, stirring while boiling for 1 minute. Cover pot and recude heat to simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Set aside.
- In a deep skillet, boil crabs with ½ cup water in medium heat. Once crabs start to turn red. Remove from heat. When cool to touch, cut in half and set aside in a big bowl.
- On the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Brown uncooked spicy chorizo. Remove and set aside in the same bowl. Note: If using cooked Spanish chorizo, just run it through the skillet for just a few minutes. No need to brown it.
- Separately half-cooked the following seafood: shrimp, squid, clams and mussels. Set it aside in the bowl.
- On the same pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed.
- When oil is heated, cook onion until soft.
- Add garlic and cook until golden.
- Toss-in carrots. Cook for a minute.
- Add celery, lemon zest, bay leaves and rosemary. Stir and cook for a minute.
- Stir-in chopped parsley.
- Pour shrimp stock or clam juice and white wine.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add smoked paprika.
- Add ground pepper.
- Add clams and cook for 1 minute.
- Toss-in mussels and crabs. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir-in red bell pepper.
- Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Toss-in shrimp, squid and chorizo. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Lastly, add garbanzos. Salt to taste. Simmer for another minute.
- Turn off heat.
- Serve hot and rice on the side. Enjoy!
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