Tina Pemberton, chef-proprietor of The Café at Brovey Lair in Ovington, prepares her own sea-food version of Spain’s national dish.
Photograph: Denise Bradley


I lived in Spain over 25 years ago when you could walk from bar to bar (mesones) in the old town of Madrid and buy a tiny glass of wine (chato de vino) for one peseta – a pub crawl Spanish style. Each meson would specialise in a different tapa like cheese, ham, mussels, olives or tortilla which cost only a few pesetas – perfect for students.

At Easter and in summer a group of us would rent a large farmhouse somewhere in the countryside on Ibiza, which in those days was extremely affordable. Most of our food we cooked on the farmhouse stoves, but Sunday lunch was different and very special. We would all go out for ‘the paella’.

We tried them everywhere, as I imagine thousands of visitors do every year. Personally, I disliked the ones with pork, chicken and perhaps the gesture of a lonely prawn on top.

Basically, this is the more typical family version.

Eventually we discovered a place just outside San Miguel unknown by the tourists. We had to leave the car and clamber down an almost sheer rock face to a beach where we lunched on the most incredible sea-food paella served with Sangria. I remember we all enjoyed the best siesta ever and returned several times just for the paella.

At Brovey Lair I have contrived my own style of paella. The golden rule is never cook the rice and sea-food together as they so often do in Spain. This results in a mish-mush of boiled fish in a watery rice. Cooked separately you really appreciate the distinctive tastes, textures and flavours.

Supermarkets now stock excellent paella rice so do not compromise by using the long grain or quick cook varieties. The very short grain absorbs all the water and when cooked should be slightly chewy not soft. A paella pan is best as it is shallow and the rice can cook evenly. You can use a large saucepan or frying pan instead. I tend to cook more fish than rice so the dish is not too heavy. My preference is a combination of fresh green prawns, monkfish and baby squid which, like samphire, is now in season.

Paella a la Costa Brovey Lair
serves four

16 large green prawns with heads on
2 monkfish tails
8 baby squid
4 red peppers
1 shallot onion
1 kilo of samphire (500gms when trimmed)
Flat parsley
Garlic
Crushed dried chillies (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Saffron
Fish or vegetable stock
Paprika
Crystal sea salt
White vermouth
Lemon Juice
Paella rice

Prepare the fish and seafood...
Place the prawns in a large bowl and cover with olive oil. Add three cloves of garlic, chopped parsley, and crystal sea salt then sprinkle on the dried chillies and a splash of vermouth.
Cut the monkfish tails into medallions and season as above with chilli or without chilli according to taste, salt and lemon.
Season the baby squid as above but in a separate bowl.

... and the peppers
Cut the peppers in half, cover in salt, olive oil and a little chilli. Roast or grill on a high light for approximately 45 minutes or until the skins are crinkly and slightly burned. Then peel off skins. (If this is too time-consuming buy a jar of pimientos de piquillo – available in most large supermarkets).
Trim the samphire from the stalks, bring it to the boil and then immediately turn off the heat.

Cook the Paella
Chop the shallot, onion and a couple more garlic cloves into the pan then sauté in olive oil on a low light.
Add a large mug of paella rice to the pan with a pinch of sea salt and a teaspoon of paprika. Keep on the move by stirring frequently.
Fill the same mug with boiling water, add a generous pinch of saffron strands and either a teaspoon of fish bouillon or half a fish-stock cube.
Pour over the rice, stir evenly only once, then leave to simmer until the rice has absorbed all the stock. Test, and, if still too hard, add a small drop of boiling water.

Sauté the fish
Meanwhile sauté the monkfish, then the prawns (until shells turn pink) with olive oil in a large pan or wok. Lastly, add the baby squid.
Be careful not to overcook any of the fish.

Combine the elements
Peel peppers if roasted and, when rice is cooked, place on top.
When the fish is just cooked also place this on top of the rice.
Strain the samphire and add a little olive oil and lemon juice.
Place in the middle of the paella pan then serve immediately.

Wines to accompany the meal
At Brovey Lair Tina would serve either a well-chilled sauvignon blanc or rosé, or for those who prefer red, a part-chilled Brouilly from the Beaujolais region.

For more information on this and other Brovey Lair menus either visit their web site at www.broveylair.co.uk or call 01953 882706 for a reservation.