In this article, we are going to improve Gordon Ramsay’s seafood paella recipe. Yes, luckily the task is not difficult because Gordon Ramsay’s paella is far away from the paellas we make and eat in Spain.
In 1993 Gordon became the chef of the Aubergine restaurant in London, which three years later was awarded two Michelin stars. In 1998, at the age of 31, Ramsay established his first fully owned and named restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which quickly received the most prestigious award in the world of cooking – three Michelin stars. Today, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is the longest running restaurant in London to hold this award, with Ramsay being one of only four chefs in the UK to hold all three stars.
He can have 10 Michelin stars, but this does not change the fact that original the Seafood Paella Recipe by Gordon Ramsay is not a proper paella.
Learn how we cook this seafood rice dish, the traditional easy way as we do in Spain.
Ingredients to improve Gordon Ramsay’s Paella Recipe
The base of this version of Gordon Ramsay seafood paella recipe, contains the fish stock (fumé, in Spanish), usually made with:
- Fish (rockfish, heads, fish bones…)
- Some vegetables (carrots, celery stalk, potato…)
- The parts of seafood we don’t use as a solid ingredient, such as heads or skins.
Another main part of this seafood paella is the sautéed sauce base (sofrito, in Spanish), that is usually made soft-frying
- fresh parsley
- garlic
- onion
- tomato puree
- dried pepper or paprika.
Either the fish broth and the vegetables will make you reach the perfect seafood paella.
As you can see, we add vegetables, but in a smaller proportion than in other paella types like the meat ones, or the mixed.
🥘 Difficulty: Average
🥘 Serves: 4
🥘 Nutrition: 410 Kcal
- 400g (2 1/4 cups) paella rice
- 200g (0.45 lbs) sliced cuttlefish or squid
- 12 raw shell-on king prawns
- 400g (0.9 lbs) mussels
- 200g (0.45 lbs) chunked tune, kingfish and/or monkfish
- 200g of tomato puree
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 small chopped onion
- half a handful fresh parsley leaves (finely chopped)
- 2 chopped garlic cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- pinch of saffron
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 800g seafood/fish stock
How to make Gordon Ramsay’s seafood paella and improve it?
🥘 Total time: 55′
🥘 Prep time: 30′ Including a quick fish broth
🥘 Cooking time: 25′
- Clean and peel the prawns. Its skins and heads will be very valuable for the stock
- Smash the skins and heads or even crush them to extract all the flavor
- Add it to boiling water. You may want to add fish bones and heads, too. Let it cook for 30 min.
- Clean the cuttlefish and slice it forming small rings
- Cut some strips of red pepper or small dices, as you prefer
- Clean the shells with a lot of water to remove any piece of sand
- In a paella, or a very large pan, set medium heat and warm the olive oil
- Add a little of smoked paprika and stir
- Sauté the onion, garlic, and parsley. Stir
- Add later the tomato and stir. Wait until its color becomes darker
- Add a very little bit of pepper and salt to taste. Stir for a moment.
- Add the cuttlefish and then the seashells. Let them cook for a few minutes. You’ll see that it starts to make a promising broth.
- Add the rice and stir to mix. We also have to saute the rice
- Pour the stock previously warmed. Add the saffron. Stir and try the salt
- 10 min later, add the fresh peas, the red pepper and some prawns. Optionally, add a little bit of parsley previously chopped
- Let it cook until the rice has absorbed almost all the stock. Almost
- Let it cook for 15 minutes (minimum heat). Then, taste the grain. If it is ready, remove from the heat
- Serve it and enjoy it!
TIPS AND TRICKS
- According to your taste you can decorate with strips of red pepper and add some peas to the fried food. You can also put chopped onions in the sofrito or not, it’s a matter of taste. Onion would make the final result a little creamy.
- To prevent the starch from coming off the grain and becoming a paste, do not stir or shake the paella. Leave it just as you added it.
- The paella can be finished in the oven, although it is not very orthodox.
Restaurants
Internationally renowned, Gordon has opened a chain of successful restaurants around the world, from Italy to the United States, and has sixteen Michelin stars. The group continues to grow with two companies in Doha, Qatar, opening in 2012; a total of three restaurants in Las Vegas: the Gordon Ramsay Steak in Paris, Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill at Caesars Palace and the Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood, and the impending opening of the Union Street Café at London’s Borough Market (in association with footballer David Beckham.) Its signature restaurant is the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant as it is the one that brings 3 Michelin stars since 2001.