Seafood Paella Recipe

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 rashers of bacon
• 200 grams / 8 oz of fresh firm white fish fillets
• 12 fresh mussels, 12 raw green prawns and 12 scallops
• 3 lemons
• 1 onion
• 2 to 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of paella or short grain rice
• 1 cup of white wine
• 3 cups of reserved poaching liquid, fish or chicken stock
• ½ teaspoon of saffron threads
• ½ teaspoon of chili powder or a few drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika plus extra to garnish
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup of corn kernels
• ½ cup of green peas
• 1 chorizo sausage
• 15 to 20 cherry tomatoes
• fresh chopped parsley

Cut each lemon into 8 wedges. Clean and scrub the mussles, peel and devein the prawns and cut the fish fillets into 4cm (2in) cubes. Gently bring a pan of water to the boil, reduce to a simmer and add a couple of lemon wedges and juice. Now gently poach the seafood in batches for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the seafood reserving all the liquid and set aside. Discard any mussles or shellfish that haven't opened.

On a clean board slice the onion into thin wedges, lyonaise. Peel and crush the garlic cloves. Slice the bacon into small strips or lardons and put aside, and slice the chorizo sausage into thin slices slightly on the diagonal. Pierce the tomatoes with a skewer twice - this is purely to stop them bursting while cooking. Heat the stock, adding the saffron to release the colour. Heat a large frypan, wok or traditional paellera pan. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the bacon. Fry the bacon until golden, remove from the pan and set aside. Now add the remaining oil and sauté the onion until transparent without browning. Add the crushed garlic and rice, and stir to coat with the oil. Add the cup of white wine, chili, paprika, bay leaves, salt and pepper and one ladle of the heated stock and saffron. Continue ladling in the stock oneladle at a time stirring and simmering until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender - as you would for a risotto. This takes approximately 35 minutes. Add the corn and peas to gently cook through. Add in the cooked bacon and seafood, stirring through to heat. Now add the sliced Chorizo and cherry tomatoes, continue to heat through stirring gently to combine. Serve with the lemon wedges dotted over the paella and sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley and a little dusting of more smoked paprika if desired.

Paella is really a complete meal in itself, although you may wish to serve it with a fresh green salad and some fresh crusty bread.

(Serves 6 to 8)