Italian fregola pasta in “paella style”

I made the recipe for this version of paella at the request of Bonappetit Les Amis, the Belgian webshop for online foodies. I came up with this dish using some of their top products like fregola and plenty of spices. Would you like to take a look at the webshop… https://www.bonappetit.be/nl/

Fregola, a tiny spherical pasta with a nutty and smoked taste that perfectly absorbs all the flavors of this paella preparation. A southern dish to try…

5 van 4 Stemmen

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Course Main dish, pasta and cereals, Fish and Seafood

Cuisine Own recipe, Mediderranean

Servings persons

Equipment

large pan / paella pan

Ingredients

500 gr fregola Italian spherical pasta, niet te verwarren met parelcouscous.
500 ml vegetable broth
400 gr calamari rings
500 gr clams
15 mussels in their shell
12 gambas or raw langoustines
1 red pepper red bell pepper
250 gr peas may be frozen
1 tomato
2 cloves garlic
3 tbl spoon olive oil
½ tea spoon saffron in powder
½ tea spoon spicy red pepper powder
½ tea spoon sweet paprika powder pay attention! don't use smoked paprika
1 bag colorant colorante is a yellow powder that is used in the Spanish kitchen in paella preparations. This is often already incorporated in ready-made paella spice mix.
pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

Rinse the mussels and let them soak in ice cold water for an hour.
Cut the red pepper and tomato into small cubes. Crush the garlic.
Heat the broth.
Place the large pan on the heat and add the olive oil. Add the diced bell pepper, tomato and the crushed garlic. After about five minutes, add the peas. Let everything cook for another 5 minutes and stir regularly.
Add the calamari rings and fry for a while.
Pour in the hot stock together with the spices such as sweet and spicy paprika powder, saffron and optionally the colorante. Also add the clams and mussels. Put the lid on the pan and let it simmer for 3 minutes. The shells should now open.
Taste the liquid to see if it is well seasoned because this determines the taste of the dish. You can add some extra seasoning if needed. Then add the fregola and put the lid on the pan. The moisture must not evaporate but be absorbed by the fregola. If you notice that there is too little stock, you can add more little by little. Stir regularly.
After about 15 minutes the fregola is almost done and we put the prawns on top. (presents nicely in a fan shape) Put the lid back on the pan and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, leave the lid on and let it rest for a few minutes. The intention is that almost all moisture has now been absorbed by the paste.

Notes

With this dish I give a twist to the traditional Spanish paella. I replace the rice with fregola, an Italian pasta from Sardinia, and in combination with my own seasoning, this is a delicious southern dish!

Keyword spanish kitchen, fregola, paella, spherical pasta, Italian pasta, fregula

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5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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by Patricia

I am Patricia, energetic 40'er, architect, business manager and food blogger. Living in Andalusia but from Flanders - Belgium. Mother of 2 active and creative kids who, together with my husband Geert, form the tasting team of the first order!
Cooking has become a passion. Everything starts with devising an original recipe and that’s when my love for food photography & styling comes across… In my blog you will get to know my healthy Mediterranean fusion cuisine!

Buen provecho!

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