Dish of the week: Paella Arroz Negro

Where?
Lunya, 18-20 College Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 3DS. 0151 706 9770.  

Price?
£13.95 pp (min two people, and half price on Thursday night).

La Especial?
It most definitely is the special one – and all the more so if you are accustomed to the best things in life being big, black and magic.

Award-winning Lunya's passion for all things Spanish knows few bounds. They don't overly Anglicise their dishes to get timid punters through the door...

 ...Er, hang on, they do a chorizo “scouse”
Well apart from that...

...And chorizo sausage rolls...
Yes, all right. But there's nothing timid about either. This is a kitchen that likes to stick to its guns. For example, they do mackerel semen. And if that's not to your taste, they aren't going to go changing to, say...

 ...some other kind of semen?
Anyway, onto the Arroz Negro. This is one of four paellas gracing the Lunya menu. It's made in exactly the same way as any other seafood paella, but squid ink gives it a dramatic, dark twist.  So nourished and noir-ished.

That's bad even by your standards
Liverpool Confidential's operatives have purchased this twice now, which makes them somewhat suspicious: the obsidian appearance does not have mass appeal, in fact this it the least popular item on the paella menu, says chief worlock Peter Kinsella.

A big wrong that needs righting.

Isn't paella a faff that takes ages to make?
Yes, but you aren't making it, and while you are waiting with your buddies, there's a chance to try a few tapas (£4.95 each or three for £9.75 at lunchtime), washed down with an alcoholic beverage or two or three, or, in our case, none.

Pictured below are a few we had no problem putting away. Some stunningly creamy croquettes, look at that hefty wedge of Spanish tortilla and the big dish of padron peppers with their hot salty taste.

Ahem, I beg you padron?
Catalan scouse with morcilla and chorizo was impressive, the roasted vegetables packed a spicy, meaty punch and calamari a la romana in Cain’s raisin beer batter was as pleasurable and light as the abundance of garlicky aioli it came with.

Onto the main event then
The traditional recipe for this dish, made in Catalonia and Valencia, calls for squid ink, cuttlefish or squid, white rice, garlic, green cubanelle peppers, sweet paprika, olive oil and a seafood broth.

Served in a sizzling hot cast iron paella pan that dangled like a witch's cauldron over the table, the concoction left three of us groaning by the time they cut it down.

We were immediately washed away by the wafting essence of the fruits of the sea. Squid ink gives this flavour of this dish extra power, but it was the dark depth of the fish stock – made from lobster and crab – that swept it to glory.

Plenty of soft squid tentacles to mix with even more of that sweet aioli, and freshly squeezed lemon juice shimmered and hissed over the formidable, bubbling spell. Then as the mist cleared, we left the dark side and emerged in sunny Spain. Ole! you might say.

Groaning, you say?
Well in a good way, like.

And the verdict?
Order your ink today.