Serves 6
Prep: 20min
Cook: 30min
1kg fresh or frozen prepared squid
225g chorizo picante sausage (Sainsbury’s or M&S)
200g Eazy onions or 1 large onion
2tbsp olive oil
4 large garlic cloves
150g roasted red pepper/pimiento (from a jar)
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 very generous pinches of saffron stamens, softened in 1tbsp hot water
350g calasparra or arborio rice
2 chicken stock cubes
200g tail-on or other good-quality king prawns
1 large lemon
25g flat-leaf parsley
250g young spinach
METHOD If using frozen squid, tip into the sink and soak in tepid water for about 15 minutes to defrost. Remove the tentacles tucked inside the sacs and quarter the sacs lengthways. Run a sharp knife down the chorizo to split the skin. Peel it away and discard. Halve the chorizo lengthways, then slice into thick pieces. Tip the Eazy onions into a paella dish of about 35cm or 40cm diameter (or divide between two saut?/frying pans) over a medium heat and cook for a few minutes. If using fresh onions, peel, chop and soften for about 10 minutes in 2tbsp olive oil. Peel, chop and crush the garlic with a generous pinch of salt to make a juicy paste. Stir the garlic and then the chorizo into the onions, stirring as the fat melts and colours the onions.
Meanwhile, chop the peppers. Add the peppers to the onion. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes before adding the tomato and saffron. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes, then stir in the sliced squid and tentacles. Increase the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes until the squid begins to curl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the unwashed rice and cook for a couple of minutes while you dissolve the stock cubes in 1 litre of boiling water. Stir the stock into the pan, return to boiling, stir again, then reduce the heat to a steady simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice and the grains are swollen and tender. Fold the prawns into the almost-complete paella, turn off the heat and cover the surface with spinach leaves. Cover with a sheet of foil, tucking in the edges to trap the steam. Cover with a folded towel and leave for 10 minutes. Chop the flat-leaf parsley leaves. Remove the foil and fold the floppy spinach into the paella. Garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.