I have this great book called Traditional Spanish Cooking, by Janet Mendel. In it, she writes, “Paella is always eaten at midday, never for supper. It’s said to be too ‘heavy” to eat at night.” This whole time I’ve been eating it wrong? I’ve even eaten leftover Paella for breakfast… on more than one occasion. Wrong, again!! Wrong, but it tastes sooo good!

Something else the tastes good with Paella? Cava! I made a seafood Paella and paired it with a Rimarts Brut Nature Reserva. There are some pleasant citrusy notes in this beauty that make a perfect match to the seafood in the Paella. What’s more? The higher acidity in this Cava complements the richness of this Valencian seafood dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Method

Clean the mussels and remove the beards, if necessary. Place the mussels in a pan filled with just enough water to cover the bottom. Cover the mussels and cook over high heat until their shells open. Immediately remove from the heat, and drain off any liquid from the pan. You can use this later for the Paella.

Peel the shrimp, if you prefer to serve them without the shells.

In the Paella pan over medium heat 1 tbsp olive oil and Sautee the garlic and bay leaf for two minutes. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the white wine, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add the tomatoes, the reserved cooking liquid from the mussels, and the fish stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the spices and add the rice. Cook over high heat for 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the shrimp, cuttlefish, roasted pepper, and peas and cook 10 minutes longer. Lower the heat and cook 10 minutes longer, if needed. 

Add the mussels and allow the paella to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Garnish with lemon wedges. Don’t forget the Cava! (And eat the leftovers for breakfast, if there are any!)