Seafood & Sausage Paella

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped         
• 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
• ½ small green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped     
• 3 Tbsp  extra virgin olive oil   
• 2 fresh chorizo sausages, diced (about ¾ lb/340 g)
• 1 ½ cups (300 g) Arborio, Bomba or Carnaroli rice   
• 6 cups (1.5 L) chicken stock or water
• 1 Tbsp  fresh thyme, chopped
• Pinch saffron threads, soaking in 2 Tbsp of cool water         
• 1 tsp smoked paprika or 2 tsp (10 mL) regular Spanish paprika
• coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 1 lb (450 g) mussels, cleaned
• 1 lb (450 g) white, firm-fleshed fish such as cod, diced         
• 1 lb (450 g) shrimp, peeled and deveined      
• 1 cup (150 g) frozen peas

Directions

1. Make the sofrito (the flavour base for the paella) by pulsing the onion, celery, green bell pepper, tomatoes and garlic in a food processor or blender until finely chopped (it does not have to be finely puréed).
2. Heat a large, wide braisier pan (or paella pan) over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the sausage pieces to the pan to sear for a minute or two, then remove and set aside.
3. Add the sofrito to the pan and cook it out, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium if it’s sticking, until any watery liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat it well with the sofrito. Add the stock (or water), thyme, saffron (plus its liquid) and the paprika and stir well, seasoning lightly. Now the stirring is over. Once the liquid reaches a gentle, even simmer, add back the sausage, arranging it around the pan, and let the paella cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
4. Arrange the mussels, diced fish and shrimp to the pan and nestle them into the rice to cook, flipping the shrimp over halfway through cooking. Gently stir in the peas. It should take about 5 minutes for the mussels to open and the fish & shrimp to cook through.
5. Serve the paella in bowls directly from the pan. A well-made paella has a “soccarat” – a crust at the bottom of the pan of caramelized (but not scorched) rice & sofrito, but this can take a few tries to achieve.