7 Portes Paella Manolete is Barcelona surf-and-turf rice with Catalan attitude: chicken, pork, butifarra-style sausage, cuttlefish, shrimp, mussels and crayfish in a saffron-tomato rice. It is paella with land and sea at the same table, and everybody came hungry.
Photo by SCRR
Copycat 7 Portes Paella Manolete, Seafood and Sausage Paella
7 Portes currently lists Manolete Paella under its Paellas & Rice section. The restaurant is one of Barcelona’s historic dining rooms, serving traditional Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine since 1836, with famous rice dishes and paellas as a major part of the menu.
Outside dining descriptions identify Paella Manolete as a surf-and-turf paella with butifarra sausage and shrimp, with fuller descriptions including chicken, sausage, pork, cuttlefish, shrimp, mussels and crayfish.
This is a mixed paella, so the challenge is timing. Brown the meats first, build the rice with stock and saffron, then add the seafood late enough that it stays tender. The sausage should season the pan, the seafood should stay juicy and the rice should finish in a thin, flavorful layer with a little toasted bottom. Not mush. Never mush. Mush has left the building.
Quick Recipe Overview
- Best For: Spanish dinners, Barcelona-themed menus, seafood lovers, mixed paella fans, and special occasions.
- Flavor Profile: Savory, saffron-scented, briny, smoky, meaty, tomato-rich, and lightly garlicky.
- Skill Level: Moderate to advanced.
- What Makes It Like the Restaurant: Butifarra-style sausage, chicken, pork, cuttlefish, shrimp, mussels, crayfish, saffron rice, and a wide paella pan recreate the 7 Portes Manolete Paella style.
7 Portes
Restaurant 7 Portes sits at Passeig Isabel II in Barcelona and presents itself as a reference point for traditional Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine. Its official menu highlights a broad rice section, including Parellada paellas, lobster rice, fideuà, squid ink rice and Manolete Paella.
The restaurant also emphasizes its long history and an evolving recipe book shaped across generations of diners. That is exactly the kind of place where a mixed seafood-and-sausage paella makes sense: old dining room, big pan of rice, waiters moving fast and no one pretending dinner should be tiny.
Barcelona Surf-and-Turf Paella with Butifarra and Shellfish
Paella Manolete works because it uses Catalan surf-and-turf logic. Butifarra-style sausage brings porky richness, chicken and pork loin make the rice feel hearty, cuttlefish adds seafood depth, shrimp and crayfish bring sweetness and mussels give the dish that briny shellfish finish.
It is not Valencian Paella. It is a Barcelona restaurant paella, and that matters. Different city, different pan, still worth chasing.
7 Portes Paella Manolete Recipe
7 Portes Paella Manolete is Barcelona surf-and-turf rice with Catalan attitude: chicken, pork, butifarra-style sausage, cuttlefish, shrimp, mussels and crayfish in a saffron-tomato rice. It is paella with land and sea at the same table, and everybody came hungry.
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
Paella
- 1/4 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs cut into bite-size pieces
- 6 ounces Pork Loin cut into bite-size pieces
- 6 ounces Butifarra Sausage or mild fresh Pork Sausage sliced
- 1 teaspoon Salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
- 6 ounces Cuttlefish or Squid cleaned and cut into small pieces
- 1 small Onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 large Tomato grated
- 1 teaspoon Sweet Spanish Paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Saffron Threads crushed
- 1 1/2 cups Spanish Short-Grain Rice, preferably Bomba, Calasparra or Valencia Rice
- 2 cups Seafood Stock
- 1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
- 8 large Shrimp peeled, deveined and tails removed
- 8 Mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 4 cooked Crayfish, Crawfish or Langoustines
- 1/2 cup frozen Peas optional
- 1 Roasted Red Pepper cut into strips, optional
Serving
- 1 Lemon cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley
Instructions
- Place a 14 to 15-inch paella pan over medium-high heat.
- Add olive oil.
- Season chicken and pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.
- Add chicken and pork to pan.
- Cook until browned on all sides.
- Add sausage and cook until lightly browned.
- Move meats toward edges of pan.
- Add cuttlefish or squid to center of pan.
- Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add onion and cook until softened.
- Add garlic and cook briefly.
- Add grated tomato.
- Cook until tomato thickens and darkens slightly.
- Stir in paprika and saffron.
- Add rice and stir 1 minute to coat grains with oil and sofrito.
- Add seafood stock, chicken stock and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Stir once to distribute rice evenly.
- Bring liquid to a strong simmer.
- Cook over medium-high heat 8 minutes.
- Arrange shrimp, mussels, crayfish, peas if using and roasted red pepper if using over rice.
- Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cook 10 to 12 minutes, without stirring, until rice is nearly tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.
- Increase heat to medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes to form a toasted bottom crust.
- Listen for gentle crackling, but do not let rice burn.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel.
- Let paella rest 5 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
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- Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad – Crispy chicken, crunchy greens, and sweet-tangy dressing in one big bowl
- Disney’s House of Blues Jambalaya – Bold, soulful jambalaya that eats like a live-music-night comfort classic
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Questions People Ask
Is Paella Manolete on the 7 Portes menu?
Yes. 7 Portes currently lists Manolete Paella under Paellas & Rice.
What is in Paella Manolete?
Dining descriptions identify it as a surf-and-turf paella with butifarra-style sausage and shrimp, with fuller descriptions including chicken, sausage, pork, cuttlefish, shrimp, mussels, and crayfish.
Is butifarra the same as chorizo?
No. Butifarra is a Catalan fresh pork sausage. Do not use smoky Spanish chorizo if you want the cleaner Barcelona-style flavor.
Can I use crawfish instead of crayfish?
Yes. In the United States, cooked crawfish are the easiest substitute. Langoustines also work beautifully.
Can I make this without a paella pan?
Yes, but use the widest shallow skillet you have so the rice cooks in a thin layer.
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Photo of “7 Portes Paella Manolete, Seafood and Sausage Paella” created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Photos may be representative of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes based on information from the restaurant and other sources on the internet – many courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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