Spanish-Style Seafood Risotto

This Spanish-Style Seafood Risotto, known as Arroz Meloso con Bacalao y Gambas, is what classic Spanish food is all about. We’re talking a ton of great flavors, easy to make and done in a little over 30 minutes. Serve it next to a baguette and a bottle of Spanish wine for a complete meal.

What really flavors this rice dish is the fish broth. I used a Spanish fish broth that taste about as good as homemade broth. I highly recommend it! If you can’t find fish broth in your area, you can substitute it for chicken broth or even vegetable broth.

For the rice I used Spanish bomba rice. Which is the one that’s typically used to make paella. Very similar to arborio rice. You can use other types of rice. Though the liquid to rice ratios might be different. As this type of rice absorbs more liquid.

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: Important to mix the rice around every 2 to 3 minutes. This will release the starch in the rice and help thicken the broth for a creamy texture. You want to add in the seafood about 3 to 4 minutes before the rice is cooked. That way all the ingredients are perfectly cooked. .

For the saffron in this recipe, choose whole threads from Golden Saffron so you can measure the amount called for.

Have the broth and seafood ready before adding the rice. If you want to focus on the texture of the rice without cooking seafood, start with creamy saffron risotto.

How to Make Spanish-Style Seafood Risotto

1. Add the fish broth into a sauce pan, pinch in the saffron and heat with a medium-high heat.
2. At the same time, heat a large fry pan with a medium heat and add in the olive oil
3. While the oil is heating, finely chop the onion, roughly chop the garlic, finely chop the red bell pepper and finely grate the tomatoes
4. Add the chopped onion, garlic and red bell pepper into the hot fry pan, mix continuously, after 3 to 4 minutes and the vegetables are lightly sauteed, add in the paprika, quickly mix together, then add in the grated tomato, mix together and then simmer.
5. Once the grated tomato has slightly thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes, add in the rice and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix continuously, after 2 minutes and the rice is lightly toasted, add in the saffron infused fish broth, mix every 2 to 3 minutes.
6. In the meantime, add the cod fillets over some paper towels and pat dry, then season with sea salt & black pepper and cut each fillet into small bite-size pieces, add the shrimp over paper towels as well and pat dry, then season with sea salt & black pepper
7. After cooking the rice for 15 minutes and you can see a lot of the broth has been absorbed but there is still plenty of liquid left, add in the seafood, give it one final mix so everything is evenly distributed, then place a lid on the pan and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the rice and seafood are cooked through
8. Transfer into serving dishes and garnish with fresh parsley, serve at once, enjoy!

Serve as soon as the rice is creamy and the seafood is done. For a wider pan and a less creamy finish, try Spanish seafood paella.