Seafood paella

This seafood paella is inspired by my trip to Valencia, the paella heaven of the world, where I ate the best paella on the sea front, with fresh seafood. I have changed up the recipe to become much easier to cook than what is usually done, using frozen seafood and chopped tomatoes to speed up the process.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

100g chorizo (optional)
2 white onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp dried herbs
300g paella rice
5 tbsp white wine
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
900ml stock (I made the stock extra strong by adding chicken and fish stock cubes)
400g bag frozen mixed sea food (I used waitrose’s ‘frozen fruits de mer’ which I found perfect for paella, but use any that you can find. Unlike meat, most shops have a similar quality of its frozen seafood), you do not need to defrost the seafood
2 lemons juiced, and extra wedges of lemon to serve
Large pack of flat leafed parsley, chopped (save some for garnish). The stalks are added to the paella earlier than the leaves, so remove the stalks from the leaves and finely chop. Keep the chopped stalks and leaves separate.

Method:

Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan.
Add the chorizo, if using, to the pan and fry for a minute or so until some of its oil is released.
Add the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the stalks of the parsley.
Stir in the paprika, thyme and paella rice. Then pour in the white wine. Fry on high heat for a few seconds.
Add the tinned tomatoes and stock.
Cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring every so often, until some of the liquid has evaporated. Add some water if it is looking a bit dry. Add half of the lemon juice halfway through, after 10 minutes.
Then add the frozen seafood into the pan and stir. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring often. Now the rice and seafood should be cooked.
Stir in the rest of the lemon juice and scatter the chopped parsley leaves over the top.
Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy with a glass of cold white wine.