Good_Queen_Bess
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My favourite receipes: Seafood paella and chicken paellaYou will need:
A paella pan (or wide shallow frying pan)
Onion
Olive Oil
Red pepper
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
Saffron
White wine
Fish stock and/or vegetable stock
Shell fish/seafood of your choice:
Raw King Prawns work lovely. Mussels. Squid.
Paella rice
Petit Pois (handful-ish)
TIPS:
*This recipe feeds 2 ish.
*ONLY use paella rice, it will not work with any other rice. I add about 3 handfuls-ish of rice.
*You NEED saffron otherwise it doesn't taste half as good. You NEED wine - same reason.
*I prefer a mixture of fish AND vegetable stock as fish on it's own can be a bit strong.
If you're using mussels, it's SO much better to use FRESH LIVE mussels. Prepare them first, by chipping off the barnacles from the shells and remove beards. Discard the mussels that are open, or give them a tap with your knife - the ones that close after a moment are still alive, if they don't close, they are dead - so discard. They are ready to cook - but don't cook them yet.
Soften onions in olive oil. Add the diced peppers.
Meanwhile, add several strands of the saffron to a few teaspoons of water.
Lower the heat and add garlic to the onions, but don't let it burn.
Warm the ring up again and add the rice to the pan and stir around to coat them in the oil.
Add the glass of wine and allow it to cook for a moment whilst the alcohol cooks off. Stir.
Add the saffron water. Stir.
Add about 500mls of the stock. Stir.
Turn the pan down and stir often.
TASTE TASTE TASTE.
When the rice is about half cooked, at this point, add the chunks of white fish if you are using it. You don't want it to over cook or under cook.
Meanwhile, cook your mussels in a seperate large pan. Add them to boiled water (or fish stock). They only take a few minutes so don't yack on the phone or go on internet! When they are fully opened, they are cooked. DO NOT let them over cook. Pour the water off them. Discard ones that haven't opened.
Add the squid to the paella, it should be nearly done by now. Over cook squid and it tastes like rubber. Add the petit pois.
Add the raw king prawns and mussels to the pan when the paella is just about cooked (when almost all of the stock has gone and the rice is cooked). The prawns are cooked when they turn pink.
Serve with a bottle of white rioja or a savigion blanc.
This is not a easy receipe, as it's about the timing and getting the seafood right without overcooking it.
The receipe also works very well when using chicken instead. Or chicken and chorizo, or pancetta.
Add chunks chicken/pancetta/chorizo at the beginning after you've put the onions/garlic in, and use chicken stock instead of fish stock. It's actually a lot easier than the fish paella to do.
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chocaholicsanon
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made it tonight, and it was yummy..
we had
onion,
garlic,
sweet chilli pepper,
red pepper
chorizio
chicken,
chicken stock,
white wine,
saffron,
king prawns,
and mixed seafood..
it was lovely jubbly.. shall make it again.....certainly filled us up,
also made ciabatta bread wiped with garlic and sprinkled with olive oil...
thanks for the sugestion..
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Good_Queen_Bess
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It is very filling.
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medot
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right...i'm going to try and make this ither tomorrow or satrday....i've got the cooking bug now
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Good_Queen_Bess
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I made it during the week and it was scrummy. I made it for when I was on nights and it warms up well in the micro at work.
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medot
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woooo hooo made it and it looks fab.
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medot
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we both loved it.
will try it again using the chicken...but i dont think it will beat the seafood one.
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Good_Queen_Bess
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Glad you enjoyed it.
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Acorncup
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it's good to add a bit of Spanish chorizo sausage when you are frying the onions. 
it's like salami...and is full of flavour.
You can buy it thinly sliced in packets, but it's best to get a chunk from the deli counter and cut it into little cubes. You can freeze the rest.
you only need an ounce or two (50g??)
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Good_Queen_Bess
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Yes, chorizo is lovely in a paella. Although I find I don't need to freeze it as it lasts forever as it's cured.
Pancetta works as well. Especially if you can get a big chunk and cut the sizes you want.
Tell you what doesn't work - although I've never tried it - sprouts.   
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Acorncup
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Oh damn....I was going to use sprouts next time  
yes, I've kept chorizo for ages in the fridge....reckon the old spaniards used to keep it hanging up from the rafters of their fincas...
but I didn't want to risk giving food poisoning to anyone who was reading this page
thanks GQB for the confirmation it is OK to keep........
edit...P.S. anyway, we know medot doesn't mind shaving the mouldy bits off her ingredients before using them
so she won't mind some chorizo with white bits on the outside
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Good_Queen_Bess
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Chorizo obviously goes off eventually, but it never has on me as I've eaten it!!
I sometimes pick mould off bread if I'm broke or can't be bothered. Only if it's a bit though.
With cheese, I do the same! Cheese has to be quite nasty before I throw it!
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madsue
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I do exactly the same GQB, with bread, and especially with cheese!!!! Does chorizo actually ever go off?
I have to say my least favourite foods are paella (and pizza), and now risotto is coming in a close third  I made a risotto the other week, and followed a recipe absolutely faithfully. I realised as I was eating it, that I really don't like it at all. I had always thought it was cos I didn't make it right, but nope, I just don't like it!!!!!
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Good_Queen_Bess
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I love it in Spain when you get a massive paella pan with all the lovely shellfish and meat to share.
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