Arroz con gambas y calamar

Name: Arroz con gambas y calamar
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 24 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 24 Raw King Prawns; 2 tbsp Olive Oil; 1 small Onion; 1 Bay Leaf; 1 pinch Saffron; 450g Paella Rice; 2 teaspoons Tomato Puree; 200ml White Wine; 650ml Seafood stock; 3 Medium Squid

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Seafood recipe with Spanish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 39 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 24 min total

24 Raw King Prawns
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 small Onion
1 Bay Leaf
1 pinch Saffron
450g Paella Rice
2 teaspoons Tomato Puree
200ml White Wine
650ml Seafood Stock
3 Medium Squid

Step-by-step instructions

Peel and devein most of the prawns (a fishmonger should be able to do this for you), keeping a few whole for decoration, if you like. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or shallow flameproof casserole over a medium-low heat and fry the onion for 5 mins until softened. Add the bay leaf, saffron, rice and tomato purée, and cook for 1-2 mins more, stirring.
Pour in the wine and bubble for 1-2 mins, then pour in the seafood stock and 150ml water. Cook for 5 mins, then add the squid, season well and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 12 mins more, adding a little more water if the mixture starts to look dry.
Uncover the pan and stir through the peeled prawns, then arrange any whole prawns on top of the rice mixture. Cover again and simmer for a further 5-6 mins until the prawns are pink and cooked through. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes before serving from the pan.

Why this works on a weeknight

Arroz con gambas y calamar genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Arroz con gambas y calamar actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Seafood Spanish ⚡ 30-Min Dinner