Seriously scrumptious seafood paella

You can vary the recipe according to your taste or pocket by omitting the prawns or changing the type of fish.

Ingredients

Sauce

• 45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 125g bacon, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2.5ml ( tsp) curry powder
• 2.5ml ( tsp) ground paprika
• 2.5ml ( tsp) dried parsley
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 400ml chicken stock
• 10ml (2 tsp) sugar
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Other ingredients
• 500ml (2 cups) water
• 250g hake
• 250g smoked haddock
• 200g peeled prawns (optional)
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 200g (1 cup) rice, uncooked
• 1 tin smoked mussels
• 125ml ( cup) peas, cooked
• 100g black olives
• 60ml ( cup) black lentils, cooked
• lemon, chopped
• Handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method

For the sauce, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and green pepper until soft. Add the bacon and fry until brown. Add the garlic, curry powder and paprika and fry until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients, reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

In another pan, bring the water to the boil and poach the hake, haddock and prawns until just cooked. Remove the fish, reserving the water. Add the stock cube and the rice to the water and cook until the rice is done. Set aside.

Flake the fish and add to the sauce with the prawns, mussels, peas, olives, lentils, lemon and coriander. Add the cooked rice and mix gently to combine. Serve warm. Serves 4-6