1 dozen clams
1 dozen mussels
4 cups water
16 large prawns, butterflied and rinsed
½ cup olive oil
½ pound squid, cleaned and cut into rings and tentacles
1 pound halibut
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ yellow onion
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
8 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1½ cups Arborio rice
1 gram saffron
¼ cup vermouth
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup peas or ½ pound green beans

1. Boil the clams and mussels in the water just until the shells open; take the shellfish out of the liquid and reserve both the shellfish and the liquid separately.
2. Heat the oil in a 35-centimeter paella pan or a heavy, 15-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the prawns in the oil just until pink, then lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Sauté the squid in the same pan for a minute or two, then lift it out of the oil and set aside.
3. Cut the halibut into 8 chunks, season it with salt and pepper and sear it briefly in the same pan, turning once. Do not cook it all the way through, but lift it out of the pan and set it aside.
4. In the oil left behind from sautéing the seafood, cook the onion until it is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes; add the garlic and cook 1 or 2 minutes longer. Add the tomatoes and cook until they darken slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and the cayenne pepper and sauté one minute, then slowly stir in the water in which the mussels and clams were cooked.
5. Heat the vermouth in a small saucepan until it is steaming hot, then add the saffron and let it stand for 5 minutes to soften. Stir the mixture into the rice. Cook until the cooking liquid is almost absorbed and the rice is almost cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir in the peas or green beans.
6. Arrange the partly cooked seafood over the surface of the rice, tucking the shells hinge side down and nestling the fish into the cooking rice. As the rice finishes cooking, the seafood will be cooked through.