Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips

1 fennel bulb, cut into strips

3 tbsp chopped parsley stalks

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

3 spicy cooking chorizo, sliced into coins

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp tomato paste

3/4 tsp sea salt

Black pepper, fresh ground

2 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed saffron threads

600 ml vegetable stock (hot)

220 g paella rice

100 g petit pois peas

Handful of pitted black olives, halved

400 g sustainably farmed mussels

4 tbsp chopped parsley

1 lemon, halved

Method

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan (or frying pan or wok) over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, red pepper, fennel, parsley stalks, sweet paprika, and chorizo. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes until the vegetables have softened, but do not allow to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Mix the tomato paste into the vegetable stock, then pour into the pan, along with the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and saffron, and stir to mix. When the liquid starts to simmer, add the rice, ensuring it is evenly distributed, and cook over a low/medium heat for 15 mins, without stirring.

Place the peas, olives and mussels on top of the rice. Cover with a lid (or tinfoil) and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Place the lemon halves, cut side down, in the pan. Cook on a medium/high heat until caramelised.

Scatter the parsley over the paella, and serve with the caramelised lemons.