2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste or finely chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
½ t sugar
salt
1 t sweet paprika
a good pinch saffron threads
4 cleaned small squid, bodies sliced into ¼-inch-wide rings, tentacles left whole
2 c medium-grain Spanish paella rice or risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
3 c fish or chicken stock, plus more if needed
1 c dry white wine
12 jumbo shrimp in their shells
16 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Instructions
Fry the onion in the oil in a 16-inch paella pan until soft, stirring often.
Stir in the garlic, and before it begins to colour, add the tomatoes.
Add the sugar, salt to taste, paprika and saffron, stir well, and cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a jammy sauce and the oil is sizzling.
Add the squid and cook, stirring, for a minute or so.
Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are coated.
(You can prepare the dish to this point up to an hour in advance).
Bring the stock and wine to a boil in a saucepan.
Pour over the rice, bring to a boil, and add salt to taste (even if the broth tastes a bit salty, it will not be salty when it is absorbed by the rice).
Stir well and spread the rice out evenly in the pan (do not stir again),
Cook the rice over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes, moving the pan around and rotating it so that the rice cooks evenly.
Lay the shrimp on top after 10 minutes and turn them when they have become pink on the first side.
Add a little more hot stock toward the end if the rice seems too dry and you hear crackling frying noises before it is done.
When the rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a large piece of foil.
Steam the mussels with a finger of water in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. As soon as they are open, they are cooked.
Throw away any that have not opened.
Arrange the mussels on top of the paella.
Recipe by Food Musings at https://foodmusings.ca/food-travel/seafood-paella/