SHELLFISH PAELLA

If I had to choose one style of paella over any other I would go for a shellfish version made with a rich and intense stock. This is a showstopper!

SERVES 4

PREP 20 minutes COOK 40 minutes

H 2 litres shellfish stock

H 0.4g saffron (see tip)

H 120ml extra virgin olive oil

H 300g squid, cleaned and roughly chopped

H 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

H 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

H 2 tomatoes, blended to a paste with a blender or food processor

H 440g Spanish paella rice

H 250g clams, cleaned

H 500g prawns, heads and shells removed

H 500g langoustines

H salt, to taste

H Heat the shellfish stock in a saucepan over a low heat and crumble in the saffron. Keep warm over the lowest setting.

H Heat the olive oil in a paella pan over a high heat. Add the squid to the pan and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until golden in colour. Season with salt. Add the garlic, closely followed by the paprika and the tomato paste. Cook for about 2 minutes until the oil starts to separate from the tomato paste. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes, making sure all the rice gets coated with the oil.

H Add the hot stock to the pan and give it a good stir to distribute the rice evenly. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cook over a high heat for the first 10 minutes, then over a medium heat for 3 minutes, without stirring. Add the clams, prawns and langoustines, folding them through the rice and shaking the pan to flatten the paella. Cook for 4 minutes, without stirring, then let it rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving.

TIP If you don’t have a micro scale, 0.4g saffron is equivalent to a large pinch;

0.3g is a medium pinch.