Paella with Pesto

Ingredients

• 500 g rabbit meat (loose; from hocks)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 Tomatoes
• 100 ml olive oil
• 200 g short-grain rice
• 500 ml poultry stock
• 0.1 g saffron
• 1 tbsp paprika powder
• 2 Bay leaves
• 400 g mussels (e.g., periwinkles, heart mussels)
• 4 large shrimp (peeled with head)
• 400 g cod fillet
• 200 g frozen peas
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt
• ground pepper
• 1 bunch parsley
• 50 g Manchego cheese
• 50 g almond sticks
• 4 tbsp Lemon juice

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cut rabbit meat into bite-sized pieces. Peel and finely chop garlic. Halve the bell pepper, remove seeds, wash, and dice it. Wash tomatoes. To peel tomatoes, make a cross incision with a kitchen knife, blanch in boiling water for a few seconds, cool, then peel. Quarter tomatoes and cut into pieces.

2. 2.

   Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add rabbit meat and brown all sides. Add garlic, pepper, and rice, sautéing together. Deglaze with poultry stock and stir in saffron, paprika powder, tomatoes, and bay leaves.

3. 3.

   Wash and clean mussels; discard any that are open. Rinse shrimp and drain. Wash cod fillet and pat dry.

4. 4.

   Add mussels to the rice mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (fan‑forced 160 °C) for 25 minutes. If the rice is not yet tender, add a little water and cook for another 10 minutes. Add shrimp, cod, and peas, cooking for up to 8 more minutes. Finally stir in butter and season with salt and pepper.

5. 5.

   For the pesto, wash parsley, shake dry, and strip leaves. Grate cheese finely. Blend parsley, cheese, remaining olive oil, and almonds in a food processor. Season pesto with salt and pepper. Spoon paella onto plates, drizzle each serving with pesto and lemon juice, and serve.