Noodle paella

(serves 12-14)

8 tablespoons olive oil

400g angel hair pasta, (spagettini) broken into 3 lengths
salt and pepper, to taste

3 bay leaves
a good pinch of saffron threads
5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 chillies finely, sliced

3 celery stalks, finely diced

½ fennel, finely diced (optional)

2 onions, finely diced

1 large red capsicum 

6 diced tomatoes or 1 can crushed tomatoes
400g cockles, rinsed

300g calamari, sliced

½ tsp chilli powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, or water
300g medium Australian prawn meat
½ bunch fresh dill, chopped

½ bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped
lemon or lime wedges
1 lemon zest

Crush 2 cloves of garlic add 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, chilli powder and combine. Add the prawns and calamari and allow to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a paella pan, and add the broken pasta in batches until lightly golden and remove. Heat the remaining oil and add the onion, garlic, celery, fennel chilli and capsicum and sauté until soft. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, saffron, smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and then the fried pasta and cook on gentle heat until al dente. Add the cockles, prawns and calamari and cover and simmer for about 5 minutes until the seafood is cooked, the pasta is tender and the stock has absorbed.

Allow to rest for 5-10minutes and then add lemon/lime wedges and sprinkle with chopped herbs.