The Spanish Island of Ibiza // Santa Eulalia + Easy Peasy Paella Recipe!
So, as you lovely ladies are probably aware; I have caught the travel bug and I have caught it bad. After leaving America *sob* *still not over it*, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity visit one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to: the Spanish Island of Ibiza. If you don’t believe me feast your eyes on this:
Yes, that was the view from the balcony of the apartment we were staying in. Santa Eulalia del Rio (which is more of a family area) is not only located right on the coast with lovely sandy beaches, but is also a relatively short cab ride away from party paradises San Antonio and Ibiza Town (think super clubs like Pacha and Amnesia). Thanks to the *perfect* location by the sea, the seafood and especially Spanish Paella was to die for. On one afternoon we found ourselves very hungry before the majority of Spanish restaurants opened (they eat really late in Europe) and happened to stumble across a lovely little Tapas restaurant called Can Cosmi. The ‘noodle’ version of the Paella (more commonly known as fideua as I have kindly been informed by reader Marta!) was absolutely delicious and full of lovely fresh fish such as crab legs, massive prawns (or shrimp to our American readers) and mussels. It was served in a huge pan and the waiter dished out huge portions to every plate:
mmmmmmm Paella *foodgasm*
After trying so many wonderful Paella dishes and returning to England (which as I write this post is absolutely pouring with rain) I trudged through the internet to find the *perfect* paella recipe to share with you readers. After smushing a few different recipes together (and by smushing I mean mixing together, not the Jersey Shore definition) I believe I may well have cracked the recipe for a delicious and pretty authentic recipe, you can thank me later. In terms of ingredients short grain rice appears to be essential for Paella (but after some thorough research I have learnt that Italian Arborio Risotto Rice can be used as a quick replacement with little taste difference).
Perfect Paella Recipe
* 200g Short Grain Rice (read note above regarding rice type)
* 8 Large Peeled Prawns
* 5 Tablespoons of olive oil
* 3-5 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped (or crushed) (This completely depends on how much you like garlic, I looove garlic so I would use all 5 but it can be quite a strong flavour)
* 500ml of a nice fish stock (This is about 1 stock cube per 180 ml so works out at roughly 3, also a chicken stock can also be substituted but fish will give a better flavour)
* 1 tsp smoked paprika
* 1/2 diced onion
* 150g squid, cleaned and cut into rings
* 1 Chorizo Sausage (these are pretty common in supermarkets and are normally ready cooked)
* 150g cleaned mussels
* Large handful fresh parsley
* Lemon
* 2 Medium fillets of white fish
* 1 pinch of saffron (or 2 if you’re feeling adventurous)
* Optional splash of white wine
1. Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan (this will hold everything eventually) and add white fish fillets until cooked (probably slightly golden). When cooked, remove from pan and set on plate.
2. If you are using UNCOOKED prawns here add another tbsp of oil to the pan and sautee the prawns with one clove of minced garlic, when cooked remove from heat and set aside with fish.
3. Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook until softened
4. Add tomatoes and onion to the pan (optional splash of white wine if you so please here) and season with smoked paprika, saffron, salt and pepper.
5. Simmer this mixture for up to 10 minutes, until it is smooth and not too watery
6. Add squid rings to this mixture
7. Add rice (there is no need to cook the rice before) and add the 500ml of stock mixture at this point
8. Simmer at high heat for a 10-15 minutes
9. Add the mussels, prawns, and white fish to the mixture, ensuring the seafood is dispersed through the rice
10. Add chopped chorizo to the pan and make sure it is dispersed through the rice
11. Garnish with parsley and serve with wedges of lemon
Very Spanish and guaranteed to impress your friends! (If you don’t eat it all before they arrive that is, no promises from my end 😉 )
Enjoy ladies, and feel free to let us know how you liked the recipe!
Asha xo
