Prima Paella Ockenden

After cramming a length of brick-red chorizo and a conveniently space-efficient wad of saffron into my already bulging backpack on the way home from Alicante (and having learnt it's correct pronunciation), I was  understandably desperate to have a go at making the first paella of my life on my return.

All of my memories of eating paella, from the takeaway delight shared with my boyfriend among the daisies in Greenwich Park to the veritable feast that Miguel rustled up for us in Spain, are full of friends and smiles. Eager to continue with the social nature of Spanish food, I wanted to make my first venture into its cuisine with my housemates as my guinea pigs. In all honesty though, I couldn't handle waiting for a formal occasion at which to ceremoniously open the hallowed chorizo together, my re-awakened taste buds were already gasping for salvation from the somewhat limited repertoire of spices to be found in Italy and so I ate about half of it in various different fridge raids.

How Jamie's Paella looks

Although I was loosely following Jamie Oliver's interpretation of paella ( to be found here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/seafood-recipes/paella), I was reassured to have the assistance of my Chilean friend Josefa in the kitchen whilst the rice bubbled away in it's saffron-infused stock. Josefa advised me on suitable pans and expected colour and consistency but maintained that as long as you follow the basic principles, almost anything goes when making this Spanish staple. A must though, is the garlic and lemon mayonnaise that she generously whipped up to her grandmother's recipe as the final touch to garnish our plates. Overflowing with chorizo, prawns, pancetta and chicken, the yellowed rice was smokey, salty and spicy, making a great contrast with the fresh tang of the mayonnaise. Unfortunately this is a flavour combination that I probably won't be tasting much more of here in Tuscany due to the conservative nature of our local stores (although I'm sure these types of ingredients can be found in more cosmopolitan cities like Milan), so I will have to wait until my return to England where our national 'palate' is more open-minded  and where my paella will also benefit from fresher seafood!

How our Paella looks