A couple of weeks ago I finally used the saffron I bought in Spain 5 years ago to make a seafood paella. I made brown rice with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and a tablespoon of saffron, and then at the end added a frozen seafood mix we had gotten from Costco. Super easy and delicious, although it turned out more like a risotto when I accidentally let some of the water from the cover back into the pan.

My seafood paella – Hey, it doesn’t look bad!

Seafood Paella

4 cups of brown rice

8 cups of water

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp saffron

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb frozen seafood mix

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add water, rice, tomatoes, saffron, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil. Simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. Add frozen seafood and cook for another 10 minutes. It makes SEVERAL servings!

My seafood paella

Then last weekend we had a real homemade paella at a gourmet dinner we went to. Our hosts had not only a paella pan, but a paella circular burner to make sure the rice caramelized evenly. They added shrimp and scallops and paired the dish with a Pinot Noir. They also had several gourmet salts that I didn’t even know existed! For appetizers we had guacamole made with roasted avocado and veggies, a tomato/minestrone soup with figs, margaritas and white wine. For dessert, it was a delicious pear tart with blue cheese. Yummmm!

Gourmet salts

Tomato Soup with Fig

Pear and Blued Cheese Tart

Seafood Paella