UltimateMama and her girls can’t resist thinking back to their trip to Spain a few years ago and longing for the excitement of Barcelona. Since flying to Europe was out of the question last weekend, UltimateMama decided to do the next best thing–make paella with her girls for Friday night dinner. Using a brilliant Matiz paella rice recipe, the girls made an out of this world seafood paella! The one catch–make sure you have saffron on hand–expensive but worth it.
Matiz Seafood Paella recipe:
Heat 8 cups of fish or chicken broth with 1 teaspoon of saffron (we used a bit more) in a pot. In a separate (very) large pan, heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add 1-2 medium sized diced onions to the oil and fry until translucent (6 minutes, approximately). Add 1 chopped red bell pepper and 1 chopped orange-yellow bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 16 oz diced artichokes (canned), 28 oz diced tomatoes (canned), and 4 cloves of diced garlic — simmer for 5 minutes. Pour in 4 cups of Matiz Paella rice and stir until the rice is fully covered with the sofrito tomato mixture.
Carefully add the broth to the paella. Gently move the rice mixture around until evenly distributed. Do not “stir” the rice after this part.
After 10 minutes place your fresh seafood (white fish, uncooked shrimp without the shells, mussels, clams, etc.) into the mixture one by one and evenly distribute the seafood. After about 10 minutes add piquillo pepper to garnish and add color. In another 15 minutes or so the water should be completely absorbed and you can remove from heat. Cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. You can serve it directly from the pan (add wedges of lemon or lime if you want to impress).
UltimateMama believes it is never to early to start shopping for books for Mother’s Day and has a few suggestions to alleviate the stress of your search for the perfect gift! These books below will please mothers of all ages. UltimateMama also encourages everyone to check out Reece Witherspoon’s Book Club at Hello Sunshine for some amazing reads, including a few that UltimateMama discovered too!
Ultimate Nanny: How to Find, Interview, and Manage the Most Important Person You Will Ever Hire — Your Child’s Nanny by Kristen Duca which is available on Amazon.com now
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is an exciting political novel that one won’t want to put down
Rules of Civility also by Amor Towles is an interesting account of New York City social life in post-Depression Manhattan
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal tells a tale of Indian immigrants in West London
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman depicts a quirky loner who develops an unexpected friendship in Scotland
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is Book One of the Neopolitan Novels about the struggles faced growing up in post war Naples, Italy
Mila 18 by Leon Uris tells of bravery and determination during the Warsaw ghetto uprising
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is about the paths of a blind French girl and German boy in Nazi occupied France during World War II
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah moves readers with the stories of two very different sisters involving betrayal, resistance, and survival in war torn France during World War II
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber is a thriller about the reopening of a murder case by an eager investigative reporter who has a hot podcast that impacts families in a Midwestern United States town
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys which is sometimes found in the Young Adult section of bookstores (but is for mature audiences due to content and subject matter) tells of the courage of 4 interlocking characters from different homelands trying to survive and get aboard a ship to freedom in World War II
Ties by Domenico Starnone is a translated Italian novel which fans of Elena Ferrante will appreciate
Opening Belle by Maureen Sherry is a fun, witty novel about a wife and mother who tries to balance it all while working on Wall Street in 2008
