Catfish Out of Water

I came across a paella pan while perusing my favorite home goods store. With almost nothing else to do during coronavirus, I keep searching for that next fun meal to experiment with! It's also right next to my grocery store and takes only a moment to pop in, because merely perusing isn't helping anyone at the moment. And I came across this absolutely lovely $80 paella pan. I couldn't bring myself to spend so much on something that I'd never attempted before and I can't imagine another use for... Although I did keep going back thinking that, if there was a less expensive variety, I would jump at the opportunity. And then, there it was! At a quarter of the price! And now, here I am. Attempting paella. Only, saffron and shrimp brown rice paella.

Now, brown rice is not exactly common in paella. It usually involves white bomba rice because of its ability to absorb moisture without bursting or becoming mushy. Although I live in a small mid-western town and can't even find bomba rice, let alone brown bomba rice! There are some substitutes, but even more obscure than traditional paella rice. I am quite fond of brown jasmine rice, though, and am trying my hand at that! Do I necessarily recommend experimenting with vastly different types of rice in a quintessential rice dish? No. Because that could be a disaster. But I'm absolutely glad that I did! Butt it was absolutely delicious!

Although next time I would like to vary the seafood slightly. I was looking for mussels or clams or Patagonian shrimp. Just something a little bit more fun! Not that shrimp isn't fun, it's just not necessarily my favorite. And, if I'm going to splurge, I really want to do it. But seafood is in short supply at the moment at this shrimp was the best that I could do. So, feel free to mix it up in your own dish to fit your taste and availability.

Gallery

Variations of Shrimp Brown Rice Paella

I obvioisly don't often make paella. But there are plenty of other things to make with a similar flavor profile. Lately I have been working a lot with saffron and Patagonian shrimp is one of my go-tos for seafood. And there are plenty of ways to play around with this!

Quiche w/ Salmon & Spinach

Burrito w/ Brown Rice & Shrimp Paella

Macaroni and Cheese w/ Lobster & Patagonian Shrimp

Paella w/ Brown Rice, Saffron, & Shrimp

This Brown Rice Paella combines Patagonian shrimp, red bell peppers, tomatoes, peas, and saffron fronds for a delectable seafood entrée. More commonly made with bomba or similar Italian rice variety, I've opted for brown rice in this recipe. Brown rice won't cook exactly the same. It's a denser rice and takes far longeer to cook. However, it won't break down and you don't have to worry about it sticking together. So, it works fine as a substitute! As does black rice and wild rice.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Spanish

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• Paella Pan (or other large, shallow pan)
• Food Processor (optional)
• Skillet (optional)

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp. olive oil divided 1 tbsp. + 1 tbsp.
• 1 shallot minced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 8 small tomatoes (or 4 large) puréed
• 1 red bell pepper puréed
• 3 bay leaves
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1½ c. rice (ordinarily white bomba, I used brown jasmine)
• 1 c. dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• 6 c. vegetable broth (48 fl. oz.)
• 1 tsp. saffron
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 c. peas
• 1 lbs. shrimp

Instructions

 

Paella Rice

• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, shallots, and garlic to the paella pan. Cook on medium-low heat (4 on my stove) until translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, either finely dice the tomatoes and bell pepper or pulse in a food processor.

  I tend to prefer a food processor for puréeing tomatoes when recipes tend to call for tomato paste. Because I absolutely refuse to buy tomatoes in a can! But this isn't necessary. You can finely dice them.
• Add tomatoes, bell peppers, bay leaves, salt, and pepper to the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes.
• Stir in rice so that it’s coated in the oil and other ingredients.
• Add wine and broth and simmer, uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until tender (still a 4 on my stove). You may need to add the liquid gradually as it cooks if your pan isn't large enough. I started with half the amount of liquid and then added it slowly as the rice became less covered. It’s okay if the rice starts to poke through. Just make sure that it’s predominantly covered with broth at all times. You will also need to turn the heat down towards the end of the cooking process as the rice is cooked and the liquid simmers out.

  It's important not to stir the rice! It should slightly stick to the bottom of the pan. This is called the “soccarat” and is supposed to be the best part. Stirring can cause the starch to release and make a gluey consistency, more like risotto than paella. Although this is slightly less of an issue with brown rice than it is for more traditional bomba rice.

  If you do use bomba or other white rice, cut the simmering time and liquid in half.

  I also wasn’t entirely sure how well my tiny stove was going to heat this giant paella pan. A lot of people cook paella on a barbecue to accommodate this. I don't currently have a barbecue, though, so I put it across two burners for a more even heat. I turned it halfway several times throughout the cooking process to avoid hot spots.

Shrimp

• Towards the end of the rice cooking process (roughly 15 minutes before it's done), preheat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

  You can cook the shrimp in the rice. This is more traditional. Simply add with the next step when the saffron, smoked paprika, and peas are added. However, I cooked mine separately because I live alone and will have leftover paella rice longer than the shrimp will be good for. Cooking and storing them separately will allow them to still be eaten together, but won't cause the rice to turn prematurely!
• Add whole shrimp to the skillet and turn in the oil.
• Cook, turning occasionally, for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked.

  Shrimp is done when the meat reaches 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point the shell should be bright red and the inner meat should be white, not grey or translucent. The tails should also curl in to create a spiral.

Assemble Paella

• After the rice has cooked and is tender, add saffron, smoked paprika, and peas. Stir to combine. Also adjust salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes.
• Add shrimp on top and serve immediately.

  I like the look of the whole shrimp and usually cook and serve them with the shell still on. Obviously this isn't edible, though, and will need to be removed before eating! You can remove the shells and dice the shrimp before serving if you prefer.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• I used brown rice. This is not traditional. Most paellas will use bomba or other paella rice. You can substitute brown, black, or wild rice because it keeps its shape. Although make sure to avoid starchier rices, like arborio or carnaroli. I have two articles on What’s the Difference Between Types of Rice? and The Fundamentals of Cooking Rice for more information on different types of rice and tips for cooking rice, particularly brown rice.