TRADITIONAL SEAFOOD PAELLA

TRADITIONAL SEAFOOD PAELLA

(SERVES 6 PORTIONS)

200g prawns (400g if using unpeeled) 200g mussels 100g squid rings 200g clams 1 medium onion (chopped) half red pepper (chopped) half tin chopped tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic 4 strands of saffron (if available) half teaspoon of paella colourant half teaspoon of paprika dulce 300g bomba rice 100g Frozen Garden Peas Small tin of black olives 250ml of vegetable or chicken stock half glass of white wine (optional) Water (if required) 2 Bay leaves Salt and pepper to taste Chopped Fresh Parsley Lemon wedges to garnish

Method Chop the garlic, Onion, pepper and vegetables In your Paella pan (38cm to 42cm recommended) pour in around 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and set heat to medium to high. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and cook for 3 minutes until onions are starting to soften. Add the bay leaves, half tin of tomatoes, wine, vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Then add Paprika Dulce, Paella Colourant, Saffron (Grind up the strands with a pestle and mortar to start the flavour flowing), garden peas and stir round (the smell from this should be amazing!). Sprinkle the Bomba Rice evenly around the pan, stir in and bring back up to boiling and turn down the heat to simmer (add water if rice soaks up the liquid quickly). Cook for a further 20 minutes or until the rice is soft to bite. Keep stirring throughout so the Bomba Rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan (Although in Spain Traditional Paella is cooked to stick to the bottom of the pan so the choice is yours?). You can add the seafood to the pan at this point and cook for a further 5 minutes but I prefer to cook the seafood in a separate pan in white wine until all the mussels and clams have opened (but discard any ones that do not open) then add this to the Bomba Rice and stir in with the black olives, remove the bay leaves and stir in the fresh chopped parsley.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Take off the heat and cover for 5 minutes to let all the ingredients truly infuse together. Serve with lemon wedges and tuck in for a fantastic treat for you and your guests!!

Chefs tip: 1. Had any seafood you like… scallops, crab, Octopus, Langoustines or even lobster as an example and take out the seafood you don’t like.

2. Add half teaspoon of hot paprika if you like a bit of heat in your food. It also enhances the favours in the dish.

3. I usually buy 6 to 8 big prawns or langoustines to lay on top of the finished dish for excellent presentation which is guaranteed to impress your guests!

4. Double the amounts above if cooking for 8 and so on.

Preparation time 20 minutes and cooking time 25 minutes.

#seafood #paella