We're smack dab in the middle of Hispanic Heritage month, so for this week's Chef's Kitchen, we are spending time with a guy who aspiring chefs look up to.

His name is Chef Roberto Trevino and he has Mexican and Puerto Rican fan-bases. But he's keeping it real when it comes to paella and his restaurant's immersive, open air environment.

“(We're making) a real Spanish dish,” Trevino says, smiling as diners watch the whole 45 minute processs. “All that heritage of rice-eating in all of Latin America comes from – ta da! - the paella.”

Paella, he reminds us, is native to Spain. We all have our versions, but this is the real deal, he says.

“All these different dishes you love from all these different restaurants (around town), really ...  their home is here in 'Espana,'” he says.

Let's cook!

Seafood Paella by Tapa Toro

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 oz Spanish chorizo, sliced thin
1 pinch saffron pistils
1 cup sofrito (diced peppers, onions, tomatoes & garlic)
1 cup Valencia rice (can also use Bomba or Calasparra rice, or any short-grain rice
like Arborio)
2 ¼ cup seafood stock
(8) Mussels, in shells
(8) Clams, in shells
8 oz. calamari
(6) tail-on shrimp
½ cup sweet peas
Sliced lemons
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

First prepare the sofrito by browning diced peppers, onions, tomatoes, and 8
garlic in a pan with oil.

Heat oil in a 12” paella pan or frying pan. Add rice, saffron, salt, pepper, paprika to
the pan and stir to combine. Add seafood stock, cover the skillet, and cook for 10
minutes over medium-high heat.

Add mussels & clams, cover the skillet again and cook for 5 minutes. Add calamari and shrimp, cover the skillet once more and
cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover the skillet, arrange seafood on top of rice for presentation, and garnish with peas and sliced lemons. Serve hot and enjoy!