Choose the freshest ingredients for a world-class paella with our ultimate recipe. Serve this classic Spanish seafood dish in the pan to impress your guests
Prep:40 mins
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil10 large raw tiger prawns in their shells, heads removed and kept small bunch of parsley, leaves and stalks separated, leaves roughly chopped 100ml dry sherry or white wine500g musselslarge pinch of saffron strands150g cooking chorizo, cut into chunks1 onion, finely chopped3 garlic cloves, finely chopped1 medium squid (about 300g), cleaned and cut into rings with tentacles intact 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped250g paella rice100g frozen podded broad beans or peas (or a mixture of the two), defrosted1 lemon, finely zested then cut into wedges smoked sea salt (optional)
STEP 1Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the prawn heads and parsley stalks and sizzle until the heads turn pink, then mash with a potato masher. Pour over the sherry or wine and 300ml water, season with salt and simmer for 10 mins to make a stock, mashing the prawn heads as they cook.STEP 2Scatter the mussels into the pan, cover the pan loosely with a lid or tea towel, then put over a high heat for 3-4 mins until the mussels just open. Stir to release the mussel juices, then pour the contents of the pan into a colander set over a large bowl containing the saffron. Let the saffron steep in the stock – you will need 700ml in total, so top up with water if needed and give everything a good stir. Pick the mussels out from the colander, then set aside.STEP 3Wipe out the pan and add the rest of the olive oil. Sizzle the chorizo until it releases its oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add the squid and turn over until it turns white. Add the tomatoes and cook down for a minute, then pour over most of the stock, give everything a good stir and bring to the boil. Scatter the rice over the stock, stir well once, then boil vigorously for 5 mins. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and slowly simmer for 10 mins without stirring until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.STEP 4Tuck the prawn tails into the rice and simmer for 5 mins, turning them over until cooked through. Stir through the mussels and broad beans or peas. Taste the rice – if it is still a little raw but the pan is dry, add a splash more stock and continue to cook; if it’s too soupy, then increase the heat to cook off the last of the stock.STEP 5Once the rice is just cooked, turn off the heat and cover with a tea towel for a few minutes. Scatter over the parsley leaves and lemon zest, then season with smoked salt if you like. Stir everything once, then serve straight from the pan, with lemon wedges on the side.
