Seafood Paella 'West Hatch' - serves 20ish

I cook this outside on a gas ring purchased for about £12 on the market in Spain.  Paella pans are extremely cheap to buy in Spain; here, Garcia's in Portobello Road, London sell them, including huge ones like mine (2ft across).  After washing them, dry thoroughly and then rub in a couple of drops of oil with kitchen paper - this stops them rusting.

Pick over the mussels in a big bowl of cold water, pulling off any beards and discarding any broken ones or open ones that won't shut when sharply rapped on a surface.  Bring a large pan of water to the boil and throw in the mussels.  Put on the lid and boil for about 5 mins until they have mostly all opened.  Strain the mussels over a large container to save the cooking liquor.  Discard any mussels that have not opened up. Put the rest aside.

Shell half the prawns, throwing the shells into the mussel liquor.  Bring the mussel liquor up to the boil for about 20 mins; add a scoop of salt.  The stock is the most important part of this recipe - you will need a couple of litres.  Crush a good couple of pinches of saffron in a mortar and pestle and soak in a ladleful of hot stock.

Fry the peppers in some olive oil til just soft, and reserve.

When ready to cook the paella, cover the bottom of a large flat pan with oil and fry the onion gently for about 15-20 mins until soft but not coloured - you'll have to move it around a bit.

Add the garlic and fry for a further 5 mins.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 mins.

Add the rice, stir around and allow to heat through for a couple of mins.

Add some of the hot stock and the saffron and allow to bubble up. Add more stock and chuck in all the rest of the ingredients, as well as 2 or 3  teaspoons of salt.  You can top up with stock as you go but it's not meant to be constantly stirred and added, risotto-style.  It'll probably take about 20-30 mins to cook from now - test a grain of rice for softness to see whether it's done. 

Serve with loads of lemon wedges.  

¡Buen aprovecho!