One of our favorite places to eat that we do not get to eat at often is the Columbia Restaurant in the middle of downtown St. Augustine. Their paella, 1905 salad, and house-made bread is a meal that cannot be beat. While I am not a wine drinker, the Wife of the Blog is also a big fan of their red wine sangria. As those of us with little kids can attest, eating out anywhere, let alone a nicer place an hour-plus away is not a common occurrence. Either we would rather save money and eat at home and/or we would rather parent and wrestle our kids in the peace of our own home.
While not quite as good as the Columbia's this paella did a great job of satisfying our Columbia cravings without having to pack the kids in the van and drive an hour to get it. This recipe will certainly be making it into our meal rotation for the future. I tweaked the original recipe that I found a little bit to make it a little easier to make and it seemed to work for me. Also, substituting chicken sausage as well as a few other variations made for a tasty meal that didn't break our WW daily point budget.
I definitely recommend this recipe and it was the perfect Sunday supper for our family to gather around and relax before the hectic workweek started again.
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Being a history teacher, my brain never stops thinking about where things come from and how they connect to the culture that they originate. Due to a great response from my history bite on my Cioppino recipe a couple of weeks ago, here's the dish on paella...
Paella is a traditional Spanish/Iberian dish that has origins as far back as the 10th century. Moors (Muslims) in Spain started growing rice in the 10th century. Valencians (traditional Roman populations in eastern Spain) around the 15th century had a common practice of celebrating various events by making large casseroles that included the foods that they had available to them thereby making it a common thing for them to eat rice. Over time, various cooks started adding in fish, seafood, chicken, and other vegetables to the rice stew.
Spanish food historian, Lourdes March, notes that paella symbolizes the two cultures that brought together Spain. The Romans provided Spain with the utensils and the Moors brought rice to Spain.* . So, while many families at the Columbia and at home have come together over a big bowl of paella, for centuries paella has also been the symbol that has tied Spanish culture together.
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Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Paella
Serves: 8
Serving Size: 1.5 cups
WeightWatcher Points per serving: 8
1 family size bag Vigo Yellow Rice
1 lb. shrimp
12 oz. chicken sausage
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. paprika
8 oz. mushrooms
15 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 cup, piquillo peppers, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the yellow rice according to the directions on the packet. In a large skillet, 1 tsp. heat olive oil and cook shrimp until they are opaque (about 2-3 minutes). Remove the shrimp from the skillet. Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet along with the mushrooms, onion and chicken sausage. Cook until the mushrooms brown (about 5-6 minutes). Add the garlic to the pan and stir for about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes paprika, piquillos, peas and cooked shrimp. Heat through. Combine the contents of the skillet into the pot of yellow rice and stir until combined. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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I hope that everyone had a great start to the week and I am looking forward to staying healthy and growing this conversation with everyone. Have a great night everyone and stay stuntin'!
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