Seafood Saffron Hotpot - 2 - $$

Now before you even begin to start moaning about how expensive saffron is, let me tell you that the one little box you buy for this dish will probably last you at least 6 months OR you'll get at least 4 or 5 of these hotpots out of it.
Not bad huh?



This dish will serve 6 for an entree or 4 for a main. It's nice to make some herb or garlic bread to go with it, and when I say make I don't mean take a foil covered roll out of a plastic bag and put it in the oven to thaw. You're using saffron, you can go all out and make the bread surely?

Ingredients

60ml Olive oil
1 Brown onion, finely chopped
4 Garlic cloves, crushed
2 Small red chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 tsp Paprika
Pinch of saffron
4 Fresh bay leaves
2 Sprigs of lemon thyme (regular thyme will do if you can't find the lemon variety)
2 Cans of chopped tomatoes
300ml Dry white wine
1/4 Cup chicken stock
600gm Mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
225gm Cooked prawns, peeled and heads removed
400gm Good quality marinara mix

Start with scrubbing the mussels. This might take a little while. Remember to save water and put the plug in the sink and fill it just a little bit. Only use COLD water and don't freak out if the little fellas start opening a bit.
Heat the olive oil over a low heat in a large pot and fry off the onion for 6-8 minutes, you don't want to brown them, just soften them. Add the garlic and chillies cook stirring for about a minute until they become fragrant.
Stir in the herbs, paprika and saffron and cook for another minute. Add the wine, tomatoes and stock. Season and bring to the boil. Cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
Add the seafood, stir through to combine, cover and simmer for about another 5 minutes or until the marinara mix is cooked. Discard any unopened mussels; if they don't open it means they are no good for eating.
Serve with your hot herb or garlic bread to mop up the yummy sauce.

Enjoy!