Maria'S Paella - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds chicken thighs
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 pound calamari rings
1/4 pound small shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons saffron threads
1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup peas
3 cups long grain rice
6 cups water
6 large clams in shell, scrubbed
6 jumbo shrimp in shells (21-25 per lb.)
6 large sea scallops
6 wedges lemon

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Place chicken thighs skin-side down into oil and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes; set aside.
Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 1 minute. Add green and red bell peppers, calamari, and small shrimp; cook for 2 minutes more.
Stir in salt, saffron, tomatoes, peas, rice, and water until well combined. Add chicken thighs, and simmer for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to make sure rice does not stick.
Decoratively nestle clams and jumbo shrimp into the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Place the scallops into the paella, recover, and continue simmering until the rice is tender and the scallops firm and opaque, about 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges to serve.