Because Jessica is allergic to artificial coloring and this product had artificial yellow in it, I waited for a night when Jessica wasn't going to be home. The other night she went out with friends, so out came the box o' paella. The concept of seafood in a box is scary, but when I opened the package, I was pleased to find that at least the seafood was in a can, inside the box and later discovered it was cured seafood. Also in the box was a small bag of short grain, white rice.
The instructions were incredibly simple: pour the contents of the can into a frying pan, fill the can with water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer for 18-22 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Anyone could make this!
Worried about the taste, I also rendered some chorizo in a separate pan, added garlic, and chopped up chicken thighs with paprika. Later I plated that along side the paella.
Basically this tasted better than I expected a box of paella would... but still tasted bad. The rice was good, albeit a bit oily, and the taste of saffron was barely there (probably why they added artificial color), and the seafood was absolutely gross. I was so happy to have made the extra chorizo and chicken, to chase the flavor of the seafood.
If you really wanted to, there are various places you could buy this product online (in addition to Despaña, such as Exportacion Gallega and Telemarket.fr). But I recommend you don't. Rather, just make yourself some paella, it's pretty easy, just follow my paella recipe.
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Stumble2 Responses to "Inside the Despana Basket: Paella de Mariscos"
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Asianmommy said:
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Sorry it didn't work out. I've been disappointed by many boxes of food. |
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Jessica@Foodmayhem said:
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As a general rule, we no longer trust boxed food. |