* Seafood Paella

I've been a busy bee this past week - painting and decorating a bedroom for my mum. I've been covered in white paint freckles from top to toe and at one point you'd have been forgiven for thinking I'd been dipping my hands in the paint pot rather than bothering with a brush... not exactly a french manicure.

I decorate a bit like I cook... the end result is always - okaaaaay... mostly - worth the effort, but the utter carnage I leave in my wake can leave even me... awestruck.

This would probably amaze my friend Trina, because I'm fairly sure she thinks I have OCD (mainly because she said so). She saw inside my cupboard under the stairs yesterday and stopped just short of taking my temperature - my cupboards are organised to within an inch of their lives. Not because I am tidy and organised when given the time, but more because I have a temper that makes anything that isn't nailed down - fair game.

I have lots and lots of stuff in my cupboards. It's a small house. If I can't get to what's in them - I break stuff. Stuff that is in the way of other stuff. Stuff that I need. Just... stuff. So it's safer, cheaper and more expedient for me to be able to get at all of that stuff, without testing my patience... of which, I have none.

Happily, this Seafood Paella didn't test my patience either and was fairly quick and easy to put together, which meant we didn't have to survive on take-out whilst I was becoming the next Michael Angelo.

I kid you not. My undercoating is "To Die For".

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Serves 4

Prep time - 5 minutes
Cooking time - 35 minutes

You will need
A large non stick pan, skillet

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek - chopped
1 red bell pepper - deseeded and chopped
1 clove garlic - crushed
3.5 oz/100g spanish chorizo sausage - chopped
1 tsp turmeric
10.5oz/300g long grain rice
2 tbsp cherry tomato paste/puree 
1 ltr hot fish stock
5oz/150g frozen petit pois peas
14oz/400g frozen cooked seafood mix - defrosted

Method

Heat the oil in the pan, cook the leek, pepper and garlic for 5 mins. Add the chorizo and fry until it releases its oils. Stir in the turmeric and rice and coat with the oil.

Add the tomato paste and stir it through the rice. Pour in the fish stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the peas and cook for 5 mins, then stir in the seafood to heat through for a final couple of minutes cooking. Remember the seafood has already been cooked and will turn rubbery if you over heat it.

EAT