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How to make Chef Ramon Simarro’s seafood paella
Part 01

How to make Chef Ramon Simarro’s seafood paella

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“Chef Artois”—the eight-episode culinary miniseries produced by Toronto Life and Stella Artois—just wrapped up. If you weren’t following along, it’s not too late to catch the cook-off action. We’ve made it easy to binge the whole season. Here, you’ll find links to each of our bite-sized, 12-minute episodes. On “Chef Artois” the contestants have to scramble against the clock while recreating Toronto’s most iconic dishes without a recipe. Now, we’re inviting you to try making these dishes at home—but don’t worry, we’ve published the recipes alongside each episode recap.

Watch the episode

Make the dish

Serves two

Ingredients

  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 3 threads of saffron
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
  • 3 parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp crushed tomatoes
  • 150 grams bomba rice
  • 600 milliliters fish stock, boiling
  • 2 spot prawns
  • 2 manila clams
  • 2 mussels
  • Salt to taste
  • Half a lemon

The recipe

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  1. Place an olive oil-slicked paella pan over a medium heat. Once hot, it’s time to fry the spot prawns. Cook on both sides until golden brown. About 70 seconds a side. Set aside for later.
  2. Add the garlic and saffron to the same pan. Within about 10 seconds, the garlic will begin to brown. Once it begins to change colour, immediately add the parsley, stir, and then add the paprika and the crushed tomatoes. It’s imperative to act quickly during this step, if the aromatics burn they’ll add an undesirable bitterness to the dish.
  3. Continue to cook the seasoned tomatoes over a low heat for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the bomba rice to the paella pan. Stir to integrate the rice with the tomatoes, and cook the mixture for two minutes.
  5. Add the boiling hot fish stock.
  6. Add salt to taste (a generous pinch will do), and then let the paella simmer for 12 minutes. “Do not stir the rice,” says Chef Simarro, emphatically. “Instead, simply give the pan a little shake every two to three minutes to keep the rice from sticking.”
  7. Once 12 minutes has passed, arrange seafood on top of the rice. Let everything cook together for another five minutes. On “Chef Artois,” Simarro used B.C. spot prawns, B.C. manila clams and Salt Springs mussels, but a good fishmonger can help you source adequate substitutes, if needed.
  8. Remove from heat and let the paella rest for two minutes. Concurrently, slice the lemon into wedges and use it to garnish.
  9. Place the paella in the center of your table and serve it straight from the pan.

More Chef Artois Episodes and Recipes

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