Spanish treasure
Chef Ben Teyssier flames prawns for the finishing touches to his summery paella. SPANISH SEAFOOD PAELLA FROM THE KIRK CAFE
Ben Teyssier is originally from Meribel, in the French Alps, a graphic designer turned chef, whose colourful fusion plates are now his canvas. The madefrom-scratch seafood paella on the table in front of us is an example of his culinary art.
Teyssier and partner Kersti MeadJohnstone run The Kirk Cafe, in Hamilton East, opened nearly two years ago in the grounds of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
The paella is a newcomer to Teyssier’s summer lunch menu. He remains faithful to the basics of this Spanish seafood treasure but tweaks it with pops of vibrant colour and texture. It is sunshine on a plate, a touch of the Mediterranean with some contemporary Kiwi components.
There are toppings of red nasturtiums, blue cornflowers, microgreens, finely shredded spring onion, and homemade chilli-cashew dukkah for extra crunch. Underpinned by tender, traditional spicy golden rice and freshly steamed shellfish; Teyssier would never want to mess with this bit.
‘‘I love Spanish flavours,’’ he says. ‘‘When I lived in France, I used to go to Spain on holiday. We’d stay with Spanish friends and we’d spend hours sitting around in the sun, sharing paella from a huge metal pan. It is such a good summer sharing dish.’’
Tesyssier says a robust, Spanish-style bisque is key to a decent paella: his bisque is a 48-hour job, a fish bone broth of slowly simmered eel, crayfish and snapper carcasses, white wine, fennel seeds, tomato, saffron, sweet-smoked paprika, carrots, celery and more. ‘‘You have to get the balance right; you don’t want it too fishy.’’
This grunty bisque is among the liquids Teyssier assembles to cook the rice (also vegetable stock, chicken stock and white wine). He adds other ingredients to the rice such as onion, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, red capsicum, lemon, sweet-smoked paprika, garlic butter, olive oil, chilli, chunks of spicy chorizo, and his homemade spice mix (saffron being the hero here).
The shellfish come last: green-lip mussels, fresh from the Coromandel, sweet clams, and tiger prawns flamed in Armagnac and finished with garlic butter. There’s a roar of flame and heat in the kitchen as Teyssier deals to the prawns, arranges them on the rice, adds a touch more bisque, and signs his canvas with bright and crunchy toppings.
We tuck into the Spanish-inspired treat – neatly served in a metal pan – and get the full flavour of nutty, spicy rice, briny shellfish, pops of texture, and a squeeze of lemon to seal the deal. Damn delicious.
Teyssier’s tip for perfect paella rice: ‘‘Use a good-quality product, and keep tasting until you get it tender. You don’t want it oversticky and mushy. Or under-cooked.’’ He favours Spanish Bomba rice, a short-grain traditional paella rice that absorbs liquids easily and holds its structure.
The Kirk Cafe´, 6 Te Aroha St, Hamilton East. Open seven days for coffee, breakfast and lunch. Spanish seafood paella is $26 for a single serve, $45 for a bigger one, for 2-3 people.