Squid Ink Paella

Although risotto is one of my favorite things, there's so much to be said for paella with its intense and drier yet oilier consistency. Here I got inspired by a dish at Mesa 15 in Hong Kong, which I think is probably the best Spanish resto in town. A perfect squid ink paella was adorned by some grilled squid and herby aioli. I reproduced the same tonight, using some basil in my aioli  and a treviso salad with a very sherry vinegar dressing that cut nicely into the oily rice and thick aioli. If I serve this as one of many tapas, I think I can make a smaller portion in my cast iron pan...would look nice too.

2 cups of spanish paella rice
3 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
5 tbsp EVOO
2 skinned / seeded tomatoes (or 6-8 cherry tomatoes)
4 cups of fish stock
1.5 tsp sweet spanish paprika
2 tsp squid ink
around 450 gr of chopped squid
aioli with basil
treviso
sherry vinegar
maldon sea salt
parsley
freshly ground pepper

1. heat EVOO in a 14" paella pan over medium high heat; add half of the squid and cook stirring frequently until all juices exuded by squid evaporate
2. reduce heat, add tomatoes, onions, garlic and cook for about 3 minutes
3. set aside 1/4 cup of stock in a small bowl, heat remaining stock and add paprika to dissolve
4. stir rice into paella pan, generously season with salt, then slowly add hot stock; increase heat to medium-high and cook, without stirring, until rice begins to swell, about 10 minutes.
5. mix squid ink into reserved stock, then pour into pan; stir once, then reduce heat to low and cook until all liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes
6. remove from heat, cover with dish towel, and cool 20 minutes
7. in a frying pan, heat 2 tblsp EVOO and saute remaining squid on high heat, add garlic and parsley when almost done, saute an additional minute
8. make salad dressing of EVOO, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper and dress treviso (or some other bitter chicory)
9. serve paella with some sauteed squid alongside, a spoon of aioli and some salad