Here’s a funny pic of Sean Connolly which I took on Tuesday night at the first birthday celebrations of Sean’s Kitchen at Star City.
It might look as if he’s cuddling up to a large statue of a charging bull, but in fact it’s his birthday cake, designed and made by those clever cake designers at Sweet Art in Paddington.
You’ve probably seen the affable Sean on SBS TV of late, hosting the Family Feasts program.  He’s very likeable, unlike that other foul-mouthed UK chef who has appeared once too often on our screens.  If I have a criticism of Sean, it’s that he could be a bit more assertive on camera.
I’m not a frequenter of casinos (admittedly I did get to look around the extraordinary Venetian Hotel in Macao recently) but it’s worth taking a look at Sean’s Kitchen.  Located on the first level of the hotel at Star City, it’s actually two kitchens: to your left is the tapas bar with its moody lighting while to the right is the restaurant, a large space broken up by an island bar where the real statue of the charging bull stands. There were tastings of freshly cut jamon (including the Iberico gran reserve and Iberico de bellota)  and crisp light jamon and potato croquettes for guests.  And I really appreciated a bowl of  steaming hot paella, studded with fat prawns, welcome on a night when a cold dusty wind was raging around outside.
You can’t beat a good paella when it’s well made and I’m going to share my recipe with you (because I haven’t been able to get hold of Sean’s).  Hope you enjoy it!

Seafood Paella

My version of the famous Spanish rice dish.

Serves 4

Picada:
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, seeds removed
and roughly chopped
2 – 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons paprika, (Spanish, if possible – see below)
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

The rice and seafood:
125ml virgin olive oil
125 squid, cut in rings
500g Spanish Bomba rice (short round grain)
1 litre good-quality boiling fish stock
Good pinch saffron powder (or a good pinch of saffron strands,
soaked in a little hot water for 10 minutes)
Salt to taste
200g green medium green prawns
125g mussels, steamed open
Garnish: freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Make the picada: heat the oil in a pan and fry garlic until just turning colour.  Add the tomatoes, capsicum and paprika and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove and process in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Preheat oven to 180degC.
In a paella pan, heat 125ml oil and add the picada. Simmer five minutes, then add the squid. Stir to combine, add the rice.  Mix well and simmer 3 – 5 minutes. Add the fish stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer 2 – 3 minutes. Add salt to taste, turn heat down and leave to cook for ten minutes.  When rice rises to the top, add the prawns and mussels and stir to combine.  Cover tightly with foil. Place the pan in the oven and cook another 4 – 5 minutes – cooking time should be about 20 minutes, including the time in the oven.

Tip: Simon Johnson sells Bomba rice from Calasparra and a Spanish paprika called La Chinata – you can use the sweet or piquant variety, depending on how hot you like your food. Essential Ingredient (Sydney) and Vital Ingredient (Melbourne) sell Montisia Bomba rice.  Try to use a Spanish olive oil for authentic flavour.