Two Delicious Recipes from Valencia

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We are back with our stories about Valencia and we are ready to show you two traditional recipes you can try in this part of Spain – paella Valenciana and a delicious dessert: lemon and cinnamon ice cream. Both dishes are very popular in Valencia and can be ordered in almost all of the restaurants and terraces in the city.
Of course, you can adjust the recipes to your own taste or based on the ingredients you can find in your area. Here they are:

Paella Valenciana

This is a very tasty dish that can be served at both lunch and dinner. It is prepared in a large pan – called paella pan – and it takes about 1 ½ hours to cook.

The ingredients you will need to prepare paella Valenciana are: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 600 g chicken meat (you might want to use boneless chicken because it cooks easily and is more tasty) cut into small/medium pieces, 300-400 g rabbit meat also cut into pieces (if you can’t find rabbit, you can use duck or chicken hearts and livers), 2-3 cloves garlic, 2 finely chopped tomatoes, 250 g can beans, 250 g frozen green peas, 250 g frozen green beans, 4 cups of white rice. Spices: a teaspoon of paprika, one pinch dried saffron, one pinch dried thyme, rosemary as needed.
The preparation: heat the pan and fry the meat together with the garlic in olive oil until the meat begins to get a brown color. Move the meat to the sides of the pan and add the peas, the beans and the finely chopped tomatoes in the middle, sprinkle over the paprika, then mix. Add water (or chicken broth) until all the ingredients are covered. Add the 4 cups of rice, the saffron, thyme and rosemary, and then mix them all together. Allow mixture to simmer until all the water is absorbed, and then let it cool for a few minutes.
Paella Valenciana is served warm, with a glass of white wine.

Lemon and Cinnamon Ice Cream

After this tasty but slightly spicy food, what could better than a refreshing ice cream?

The lemon and cinnamon ice cream is easy to prepare: all you’ll need is 4 cups milk, 6 eggs, 1 ½ cup sugar, 1 pinch crushed cinnamon (but not more, because it can give a bitter taste to your dessert) and 1 pinch lemon zest.
Boil half the milk with the lemon zest and the cinnamon for about 5-7 minutes until the milk incorporates the flavors. Separately, beat the eggs and add the other 2 cups of milk and the sugar.
Combine the two mixtures then simmer for another few minutes, stirring continuously until it gets nice and creamy. Allow the mixture to cool, and then freeze it. Garnish with mint leaves, grated chocolate or fruit topping and there you have it: a delicious Valencian ice cream!
Bon appetit!

Posted on: September 12, 2011

By Hannah