This year, I’ve added a new holiday to my calendar: National Paella Day on March 27. From now on, every March 27 I will create a new paella dish and have a paella party for my family until I become an expert. This will take lots of practice and research but that’s half the fun of this celebration, right?
To get myself started, I asked my friends at Culinary Collective for help on the basics of making a paella. From special paella broths and bases to short grain rice, spices and cookware, Culinary Collective has everything you need to create a Spanish paella feast. Not only do they specialize in authentic Spanish ingredients but they also import gourmet cultural foods from Peru such as grains, pastes and sweets. It’s a culinary heaven at my fingertips with everything my inner food-nerd has ever yearned for.
Because this was the first time I’ve made paella, I was a bit apprehensive at the outcome, so I decided to keep it simple with some of my favorite ingredients I had in my kitchen. Fresh shrimp, beef sausage, green beans and peas were the ingredients of choice. They are also kid-approved and guaranteed to be devoured by my seven-year-old son. I was a happy mom when he asked for seconds then thirds! I didn’t have to worry about lack of flavor. With Culinary Collective’s 100% natural products such as Matiz Valenciano Paella Rice, Aneto Paella Cooking Base and Matiz Navarro Roasted Piquillo Peppers, the flavors and seasoning are taken care of. The result was a feast worthy of a celebration.
I can’t wait to get creative and make a variety of paellas with prawns, calamari, chicken and pork. The possibilities are endless with the addition of meaty vegetable such as artichokes, mushrooms and squash. It’s all up to you. You can customize your own paella to your liking.
Want to hold your own paella party? The kind folks at Culinary Collective have allowed me to give away a paella starter kit to one lucky Nibbles and Feasts reader. Kit includes Matiz Valenciano Paella Rice, Aneto Paella Cooking Base and Matiz Navarro Roasted Piquillo Peppers. All you have to do is enter below.
If you would like more information on how to get great and authentic Spanish and Peruvian products delivered to your front door, visit Culinary Collective or Marx Pantry. For more recipe ideas, follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Matiz Navarro Roasted Piquillo Peppers, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups green beans chopped in 2-inch pieces
- 1 pound large shrimp, raw, tail on, rinsed
- 14 ounces beef smoked sausage or Spanish chorizo, slice in 1/2-inch slices
- 1 liter Aneto Cooking Base for Valencian Paella
- 1 cup Matiz Valenciano paella rice
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, peppers and green beans. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
- Add sausage and shrimp to the pan and stir until shrimp turns pink; about 4 minutes. Remove shrimp from the mixture and set aside.
- Add Aneto Cooking base and bring to a boil. Sprinkle rice evenly over concoction. Carefully fold in rice in mixture. Cook for 8 minutes then decrease heat to medium low. Add peas. Cook for 13 minutes more or until rice is al dente. Add shrimp back in, cook in mixture for 2 minutes. Increase heat to high for 1 minute to create socarrat (caramelized crust at the bottom of the pan).
- Remove from heat. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Serve with lime wedges.
This is a sponsored post by Culinary Collective. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.
