The Recipe:
Seafood paella
INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp olive oil
6 large prawns
250g calamari or cuttlefish, cleaned and cut into rings
salt and pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
1/4 tsp saffron
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 litre water
1/3 cup peas
400g Calasparra rice
150g white fish such as flathead, snapper or ling, cut into large pieces
12 mussels, cleaned
2 lemons, cut into wedges
2 tbsp chopped parsley
METHOD
· Heat a paella pan, then add two tablespoons of the olive oil, then the prawns and calamari. Cook for a few minutes until brown all over and season with salt and a little pepper. Remove to a bowl while you prepare the sofrito.
· Follow the instructions in the recipe, right, adding the oil to the same pan (this is where all the flavour is) but omitting the capsicum.
· Lightly roast the saffron and dissolve in two tablespoons of water, as in recipe at right. Put the paella pan back on a medium heat. Put in the prawns, calamari and paprika and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Now add the water and bring to the boil. Taste the mixture – it should be very tasty, if not add salt.
· Add the saffron, peas and the rice and bring to the boil. Stir briefly then turn to a low heat. Place the pieces of fish and mussels over the rice and poke them in a little so they can cook. Do not stir any more.
· Cook the paella 15-18 minutes or until the rice is plump and almost soft – it should be a little resilient. Turn the heat to high and cook a couple more minutes. Any remaining liquid will boil away and a crust will form on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and cover with a tea towel for 10 minutes; uncover and leave to rest for another 5-10 minutes before serving.
· Squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve directly from the pan.
Serves: 6
