Authentic Spanish Seafood Paella

Weigh out 500g of Arroz Calasparra paella rice into a bowl using a kitchen scale.

Submerge 225g fresh clams in a bowl of cold water and let sit undisturbed for 1 to 2 hours to purge sand.

Take 500g of giant prawns. Reserve 4 whole unpeeled prawns for topping. For the remaining prawns, twist off heads, peel shells, and devein. Save all heads and shells in a bowl for stock. Season peeled prawn meat with 1 tsp salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

Finely dice 1 yellow onion. Divide into two halves: one half for the stock pot and one half for the paella pan.

Heat a large stockpot over high heat. Add reserved prawn heads and shells, searing for 2 to 3 minutes until browned. Deglaze with 2000ml fish stock or water. Add half of the diced onion, 15g fresh parsley, 2 bay leaves, and 1 tsp black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 35 minutes, skimming off scum occasionally. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a container.

Clean 300g of cuttlefish. Trim off hard beaks using kitchen shears, then slice body and tentacles into 1-inch bite-sized pieces. Place into a bowl.

Grate 2 fresh tomatoes over a bowl using the large holes of a box grater. Pour pulp into a mesh sieve to strain out excess runny juice.

Set up a outdoor gas burner or stove. Heat a large paella pan over high heat, sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and add 1 tbsp cooking oil. Add the 4 reserved whole head-on prawns and sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side until bright red and brown on the outside. Transfer seared prawns to a plate.

Add remaining diced onion to the paella pan with 1 tbsp cooking oil. Sweat onion for 1 to 3 minutes until soft and translucent around edges. Add sliced cuttlefish and saute together for 1 to 2 minutes. Push onions and cuttlefish outward toward pan edges. In the center, add 1 tbsp oil and 1.5 tsp sweet paprika, toasting briefly for 5 seconds, then immediately pour in grated drained tomato pulp. Stir and cook tomato mixture until all liquid cooks down completely and no moisture remains.

Add 1 tsp saffron threads into a measuring cup containing 100ml of hot strained seafood stock. Stir and set aside to infuse golden flavor and color.

Pour measured 500g Calasparra paella rice directly into the paella pan over sofrito base. Stir continuously for 1 minute to toast and coat all rice grains with sofrito oil.

Pour in remaining 1300ml warm seafood stock and the infused saffron liquid all at once. Shake pan gently to spread rice evenly. Bring to an aggressive boil over high heat, then adjust burner so liquid simmers vigorously across the entire pan for 10 minutes without stirring at all until about 70% of the liquid is absorbed and rice appears near the surface.

Arrange the 4 seared whole prawns in the center. Surround with salted raw peeled prawns, 250g fresh mussels, and soaked purged clams neatly over the top of the rice. Reduce burner heat to medium and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until mussels and clams open fully and prawns turn pink and cooked through.

Turn off burner completely. Cover the entire paella pan tight with a clean kitchen towel. Let sit and steam off heat for 10 minutes.

Uncover kitchen towel. Garnish paella by tucking 1 lemon (cut into fresh wedges) around the rim of the pan, sprinkle with a pinch of finishing sea salt, and serve directly from the pan.