This seafood paella is designed for those who prefer their shellfish already prepared. The name senyoret, meaning ‘lord’ in Valencian, refers to a neat presentation where all seafood is peeled and ready to eat. The success of this recipe depends largely on the quality and depth of your fish and shellfish stock. Ingredients from Spain’s Levante—onions, fresh fish and shellfish—have exceptional flavour, which is hard to replicate elsewhere. Whether you buy a good stock or make it yourself, be sure to enrich it with extra ingredients before adding the rice. Building a deeply flavoured stock is essential to any excellent paella.
INGREDIENTS
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100 ml olive oil
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1 tbsp salt (plus extra to taste)
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2 fresh squid (about 600 g), cleaned
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200 g cod cheeks or monkfish tail
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1 small Spanish onion, very finely chopped
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5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
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1 tsp sweet pimentón (sweet smoked paprika)
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2 tomatoes, grated
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330 g Spanish paella rice (such as bomba)
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12 fresh king prawns or 20 langoustines, heads and shells removed, tails roughly chopped
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1.5 litres shellfish stock
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0.3 g saffron
Preparation
For the most authentic flavour, make a shellfish stock based on a good fish stock. It may feel like extra effort, but the layered stocks give the paella the intensity and depth you want. If you prefer a ready-made option, choose a high-quality shellfish stock and enrich it before using.
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Gently warm the shellfish stock and infuse it with the saffron over low heat. Keep it hot until you need it.
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Heat the oil and salt in a large, wide paella pan over high heat. If you have dried ñora pepper, briefly sear it for about 2 minutes on both sides, then add the cleaned squid. After about 4 minutes, when the squid begins to pop and colour, lower the heat to medium and add the finely chopped onion. Fry for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and continue cooking for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Add the sweet pimentón, stirring quickly so it does not burn, then after 20 seconds add the grated tomatoes. Cook the sofrito, stirring constantly, for 4–5 minutes until the tomato reduces and the mixture releases the sticky browned bits from the pan—these are full of flavour, so scrape them into the sofrito as it cooks.
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Turn the heat to the highest setting and add the rice, stirring to coat each grain in the sofrito and searing for about 2 minutes. Immediately pour in the boiling saffron-infused stock and stir once to distribute. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and cook for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt if needed.
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Scatter the chopped prawn tails and cod cheeks evenly across the pan, shaking the pan gently to distribute the pieces. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 8 minutes, or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. A desirable thin toasted layer of rice (socarrat) should form on the bottom—while invisible from above, you can often detect it by a toasty smell and a crisping sound from the pan.
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Remove the pan from the heat and let the paella rest for 5 minutes before serving. This brief rest helps the flavours settle and the rice finish cooking evenly. If everything was done correctly, you’ll have a clean, flavourful senyoret paella ready to enjoy.
Note: You can add other shellfish meats—such as mussel or clam meat—provided they are removed from their shells and cleaned before adding to the paella.