FISH AND SEAFOOD PAELLA

Ingredients (serves four)

4 small cup rice

4 Langostino prawns

250 g (9oz) open conger eel

2 small crabs

12 mussels

200 g (7oz) clams

200g (7oz) squid

100 g (3 1/2 oz) peas

1/2 onion

1 tomato

1 green or red pepper

2 cloves garlic

saffron

10 cups fish stock

150 ml (1/4 pint) extra virgin olive oil and salt

Directions /Preparation

Clean the mussels by scraping the shells and rinsing in water. Steam them along with the clams in a pan with a cup of water until the shell open. Strain the resulting stock and put to one side for the rice. Cook the peas on boiling salted water for ten minutes, then put to one side. Cut the conger into pieces, removing any skin and bones. Clean the squid by removing the innards, but keeping the tentacles. Chop into pieces and put to one side.

Chop the pepper, onion and garlic and sauté in extra virgin olive oil in a paella dish for three minutes, then add the peeled chopped tomatoes. Add the squid and conger eel, and cook for three or four minutes. Now add the rice,  stirring well to mix with the others ingredients. Pour in  the fish stock and add the ground saffron. Add salt to taste and leave to cook on a hight heat for eight minutes. Arrange the prawns, crabs, mussels, clams and peas symmetrically in the pan, and leave to cook for another ten or twelve minutes on a low heat, checking for salt once it has simmered for a while.

Leave to sit  for five minutes before serving.