Ingredients
Serves 10
To make sofrito paste:
200 ml extra virgin olive oil
15 ml Spanish sherry vinegar
3 large ox heart tomatoes, ripe if possible
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 eschalot
6 roasted piquillo peppers, fresh or tinned
1½ tsp Spanish saffron threads
½ bunch thyme, picked
½ bunch mint
½ bunch coriander
1 bunch chives
½ bunch parsley
½ tsp spicy paprika (pimenton)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
Paella:
2 tbsp sofrito paste per person
Handful (65g) Calasparra Bomba rice per person
150 ml fish stock per person
2 lobster tails, cleaned
2 blue swimmer crabs, quartered and cleaned
6 king prawns
6 baby calamari cleaned (bodies and legs)
10 large Boston mussels
15 large pipis, cleaned
Method
In a food processor puree all the sofrito ingredients until you have a smooth consistency.
In a very hot large paella pan (for at least for 10 people), pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Add one handful of Bomba rice per person, and cook until it changes colour from white to transparent. This is a very important step to making a good paella because we need to cook the starch off the rice.
After a couple of minutes, add a couple of tablespoons of the sofrito paste per person. Cook with the rice for a minute.
Add seafood and spread evenly around the pan. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
To finish off, add 150 ml of hot fish stock per person in the pan and let it cook until stock is evaporated. Don't stir the rice.
Notes:
Bomba rice is a short-grain rice from the Calasparra region. It is the best rice to use in paella because it has the ability to absorb cooking liquid and form a crust while retaining its shape. If unavailable, substitute with another short-grain rice.
Other meat such as chicken or rabbit can be substituted for the seafood.
You can freeze any remaining sofrito for future use.