Healthy Paella Seafood Dish – (Quick 20 Minute Recipe)

Paella is a great way to end the summer. It’s an endless summer feeling good food… and a healthy seafood dish you can cook up all-year round to spark happy ocean beach memories.

Like this vibrant paella dish you can make in a flash in 20 minutes…

Where added in is Langostino lobster, a Chilean seafood that looks like shrimp or prawns… but has more of a sweet lob-stah taste and softer texture. And is more wallet-friendly. It’s around the cost of shrimp.

It’s found in the frozen sections of some grocery stores, and convenient if you’re not anytime soon going for the local lobster catch, like flying up to Maine… or going to the beach, seaside, shore, OBX… or coast. …so interesting how we have many names for the beach. 🏖️

And around the world’s oceans and seas, there are so many more types of lobster.🦞

But catching them is not an easy feat… even for a lobsterman. It’s a game that requires skill and luck. But that makes lobster even more valuable when caught.

True lobster for cooking is still hard for grocery shoppers to find without importing or individually shipping in… or visiting seafood counters during prime lobster season (in the last half of the year).

When I orchestrated parties at a Spanish restaurant, they had many paella dishes to choose from including a lobster one where the orange creature sat ontop. There was also a gigantic weekly happy hour paella pan that drew in crowds as a popular dish.

For a lobster paella dish, looking for prized lobster ingredient is worth the trouble. When you add lobster to a dish, it adds another wow factor. Lobster eyes light up 🤩 on the feast that you don’t get with more common seafood.

…Even if you’re the type to see food (any seafood) and that makes you happy… like it does for me.

Seafood is healthy and has Omega-3 healthy fat, and some vitamins and needed body minerals. Shrimp, crab, mussels, and lobster also have anti-inflammatory vitamins.

You can think of paella as a healthy way to fondue with your spoon with seafood and rice as the food stars (versus not-as-healthy cheese and bread).

And when you add in spices, you get more of the healthy. You also get delicious food taste pairings like tarragon and lobster… that’s Côte d’Azur Mediterranean diet healthy.

Paella Spices:

Spices are the cherry on top. And you could theme blend yours in your paella based on your Ayurvedic needs (and your sharing eating party needs).

If you’re feeling Mid-Atlantic beach summer nostalgic, then Old Bay seasoning is a favorite.

It was heavily doused on crabs and seafood in my old Ocean City, MD beach stomping ground. You can smell 3 things in Ocean City: cotton candy by the amusement park, salty ocean air, and Old Bay spice that’s a blend of 18 herbs and spices including celery salt, mustard seed, and paprika that gives an end-of-fiery-summer burnt orange red color…

And if you don’t have Old Bay blended seasoning on hand, but want the seafood seasoning vibes… add a douse of paprika that will spruce up the dish.

That’s what we did in party family style dishes to brighten up hummus and rice.

…And if you’re feeling Mediterranean Sea wanderlust, then deep red saffron is a must. It’s slightly licorice tasting and very unforgettable with seafood.

Saffron red strands remind me of Spanish paella, and sumac spice reminds me of other family-style dishes from my Lebanese planning party days.

Sumac is a tart spice (that are purplish color specks) you can add to paella and dazzle with contrasting yellow lemon wedges. Then adding in bright veggies like sweet bell peppers, you get vibrant healthy eat-from-the-rainbow foods and colors. 🌈

And for the paella dish, don’t forget to add a dash of green herbs.  You can do fresh sprigs, and/or you can add parsley herb spice.

Cooking the rice:

Ah, but first you gotta cook the rice!

And at that starting stage, it’s smart to stay close by to watch the cooking.

Arborio rice drinks water fast, so to avoid rice sticking (and absorbing into the rice that sticks to the skillet pan), use a wooden spoon to stir the bottom often. And add enough water as needed. A little olive oil will help prevent some of the sticking.

And if you cook faster on a higher heat, you can be done in 20 minutes.

Because you have a time choice and you can make this dish in 20-30 minutes depending on how much paella you’re cooking, how high your heat is, and how many burners you’re using.

You can cook the lobster and veggies separately on a different pan (or pans) that will only take a fraction of the arborio rice cooking time.

Tip: I like to microwave my veggies like peas with a little water (no salt) so each veggie looks full of life. Mushy peas are a different dish.

Then add the lobster and veggies ontop.

You can also save time by serving your paella from the pan you cook the rice in. It gives an authentic presentation. Tie a pretty towel to the handle… and voila! 

Oh, and finally add dashes of spices for zhughing. You can see how the textures of tarragon long grass, saffron strands, sumac specks, and pepper dots play together.

They give party drama… and everything is tasty and healthy!

If you’re got beachy seafoods on the mind, for your party feast table spread you can add a healthy, no-ketchup cocktail sauce dip. And maybe you like an Old Bay bay scallop bowl (say that 10 times!) or a 15-minute mussels quinoa pan.