Paella

Ingredients

• 3 tbspolive oil
• 10raw jumbo shrimp, heads and shells reserved for stock
• parsley, stalks for stock, leaves to finish
• 7 tbspdry sherry, or dry white wine
• 1 1/8 lbmussels, scrubbed, beards removed
• saffron, steeped in the hot stock
• 5 ozchorizo, sliced
• 1onion, chopped
• 3 clovegarlic
• 1squid, medium, cleaned and sliced
• 2tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 1/4 cupspaella rice
• 2/3 cupfava beans, or frozen peas
• 1lemon, zest to scatter; wedges to serve

Method

1. 1

   Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide shallow pan, add the shrimp heads and shells with the parsley stalks and sizzle them until the heads turn pink, then crush them with a potato masher.

2. 2

   Pour in the sherry and 300 ml of water, season with salt and simmer for 10 minutes, mashing the heads again as they go. This is the stock, and it is where the flavor of the dish comes from.

3. 3

   Scatter the mussels in, cover loosely and cook over high heat for 3–4 minutes until they open. Stir once to release their juices.

4. 4

   Strain everything through a colander into a bowl holding the saffron, and let it steep. You want 700 ml in total, so top up with water. Pick the mussels out and set them aside.

5. 5

   Wipe the pan out, add the rest of the oil and sizzle the chorizo until its red fat runs, then cook the onion and garlic in it until softened.

6. 6

   Add the squid and turn it until it goes opaque, then add the tomatoes and cook them down for a minute.

7. 7

   Pour in most of the saffron stock and bring it to the boil, then scatter the rice evenly across the surface, stir once, and boil hard for 5 minutes.

8. 8

   Drop to the lowest heat and simmer for 10 minutes without stirring at all. Stirring now would make it risotto.

9. 9

   Push the shrimp tails down into the rice and cook for 5 minutes, turning them once, then fold the mussels and the fava beans through. Add a splash more stock if the pan has dried out before the rice is done.

10. 10

    Once the rice is just tender, turn the heat off and lay a dish towel over the pan for a few minutes. Scatter the parsley leaves and lemon zest over, season, and serve straight from the pan with lemon wedges.