Seaside feast - The Perfect Paella

It's holiday time for our family and it's been a long time coming. We are on our annual trip to the south of France and this year it is to a beautiful harbour on the French side of the Mediterranean Sea called Gruissan. It's full of golden beaches, blue water and clear sky, just what is needed to clear away a years hard slog in a hot sweaty kitchen. After chilling out and having some me time to photograph the sun set whilst watching the locals go about diving for razor clams in the shallows of the harbour I walked back along the busy promenade contemplating what would be on the menu for the next nights feast. I just knew I had to cook a paella, with all of the freshest seafood at my fingertips and being just a hundred odd miles for the Spanish border I also had access to some great chorizo. So the next morning I took my family into the local village market to gather all of the ingredients required for a fabulous feast. 

The following recipe will make enough paella for 6 people. 

6 small chicken legs cut in half

200g soft chorizo sausage 

500g fresh, cleaned mussels

500g raw king prawns 

1 large white onion finely diced

3 cloves of garlic

2 red peppers diced 

500g long grain rice

A good pinch of saffron

1 ltr chicken stock

Bunch of flat parsley finely chopped

1 lemon cut into wedges 

Season the chicken legs and place on a roasting tray in a hot oven for 35 min until cooked through, I prefer to cook them in the oven before putting them in the finished paella to ensure they are Cooke through. Dice the chorizo into pieces 2cm in size and roast them in a hot pan, after 2 minuets add in the peppers and onion and turn the heat down to half way. Sweat them off for a further 2 minuets and add in the crushed garlic. Cook for a further minuet and add the saffron and chicken stock bring to the boil and add in the rice. Cook for 10 minuets and addin the mussels. Cover and cook for a further minuet before adding in the prawns and cooking for a further 2 minuets. Remove from the heat add in the chicken legs and the chopped parsley, mix well and serve with some lemon wedges.