Ingredients

Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo:

• 750g chicken, cut into small serving pieces
• 2 chorizo sausages, sliced
• 12 large tiger prawn, peeled and de veined
• 18 small clams, soaked in water for 30 minutes and scrubbed
• 18 small mussels, scrubbed and de bearded
• 1 medium squid cleaned and cut into rings

Rice

• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 125g olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 500g Valencia or short grain rice
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 150ml white wine
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 pimentos, homemade or purchased (see below), chopped
• 120g fresh or frozen peas

To Serve

• 2 tbsp. of minced flat leaf parsley
• lemon wedges

Method

1. Seafood and Chorizo: Heat the oil in a paella pan, large deep frying pan or wok. Season the chicken pieces with a little salt and add to the hot oil, cook until the chicken is golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a warm plate. Saute the prawns in the pan and cook until they turn pink, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the squid rings and cook for 12 minutes and set aside. Cook the chorizo in the pan until just cooked and set aside.
2. Rice: Preheat an oven to 180°C. Saute the onion in the pan (with the oil from from the seafood and chicken) until it is soft and transparent. Add the rice to the pan and cook for a minute. Stir in the stock and wine, add the bay leaf and saffron, and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes until 2/3's of the stock has reduced.
3. Paella: Mix the pimentos, parsley and peas into the rice. Add the prawns, chorizo and squid to the rice burying it in well. Place the clams and mussels into the rice with the opening edges facing upwards. Place the pan uncovered in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove the paella from the oven when the stock has dissolved, the rice is just tender and all the mussels and clams have opened (any that don't open discard). Cover the rice with foil and leave on top of the stove or in a warm place for 5 minutes.
5. To Serve: Remove the foil from the paella and sprinkle the parsley over the top and decorate with lemon wedges. Serve the paella at the table with a leaf salad.

• Pimentos: Pimentos are simply roasted red peppers (capsicum), de seeded and peeled. To prepare pimentos place your red peppers in an oven preheated to 180°C with a little water at the base of tray and cook for 30-40 minutes (turn the peppers over after 20 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven, allow them to cool, until your are able to handle them and then peel and de seed them (to make them easier to peel place them in an oven bag or freezer bag, when they are still hot, and seal the bags). Imported pimentos can also purchased from supermarkets and food stores, in jars and cans.