Paella

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds raw shrimp, in shell cleaned and deveined
½ pound squid cut in rings
12 clams littleneck or manila scrubbed
1 pound mussels scrubbed and beards removed
½ to 1 pound of Spanish chorizo
1 pound cubed firm flesh fish
1 tablespoon Trinidad seasoning or 2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, cut in strips
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
3 cups medium grain rice
½ teaspoon saffron (crushed)
6 cups boiling water
(optional use 4 cups water and 2 cups wine)
1/2 cup peas
6-8 lemon wedges

Instructions

Place sausages in skillet and prick them with knife. Add water to cover completely and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, cool and slice into 1/2 inch rounds.
Season the fish with 1 teaspoon Trinidad spice and black pepper. Brown fish in 1/4 cup of olive oil until it becomes a lightly browned. Remove to plate. Add the shrimp to the oil remaining in the skillet and cook 1 minute till pink. Lightly brown sausage slices in same fashion.
Make sofrito by discarding fat remaining in skillet and add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Add garlic, onions, pepper strips and tomato. Stirring constantly, cook briskly until most of the liquid in pan evaporates and the mixture is thick. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 14-inch paella pan, combine the sofrito, rice, the remaining 2 teaspoons of Trinidad spice, bay leafs and the saffron. Pour in the boiling water, and stirring constantly, bring to the boil over high heat. Remove the pan from heat and taste to correct seasoning.
Arrange the seafood and sausage on top of the rice and scatter the peas at random over the whole. Set the pan in bottom part of oven and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. At no point should the paella be stirred after it goes in the oven..