Jamón Ibérico in Seville. Mango and sticky rice in Phuket. Seafood gnocchi in Venice.
Some dishes are just as memorable as their surroundings.
Satisfy your wanderlust at home with The Luxury Collection Epicurean Journeys, a new cookbook featuring the world’s most beloved dining destinations and The Luxury Collection’s roster of chefs including José Andres, Geoffrey Zakarian, Stephanie Le Quellec and more.
In between recipes for iconic eats like The Chatwal’s steak tartare, ITC Maurya’s seekh kebab, and The Gritti Palace’s red shrimp carpaccio, are insider travel tips from boldface names like Helena Christensen, Elettra Wiedemann, Ruth Reichl and Sophie Dahl.
Just in time for the holidays, you can also upgrade to the Five Spices Gift Set. Specially created by Spice Master Lior Lev Sercarz of New York’s La Boîte à Epice, the set contains a copy of the cookbook housed in a handsome box with five custom spice blends. Inspired by the great explorers of the past, there is a special blend for each of the regions that played a key role in the history of the spice trade.
Below, debut a dish from the cookbook at your next dinner party. The Royal Begonia’s seafood paella recipe will surely impress a crowd.
Seafood Paella
Serves 4
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of saffron strands or ½ teaspoon powdered saffron
Coarse salt
1 cup olive oil
¾ cup chopped cured ham, such as Serrano
4 ounces chorizo sausage, sliced
12 ½ ounces chicken, cut into small pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ pound squid, cut into small pieces
½ pound halibut, cut into small pieces
½ pound swordfish, cut into small pieces
1 pound small or medium shrimp, shelled
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
½ pound cooked small clams, in their shells
1 pound cooked mussels (reserve a few shells for decoration)
3 cups short-grain rice
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cups hot fish broth
1 pound large crayfish
Parsley sprigs, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
In a small bowl or mortar, mash garlic, parsley saffron and salt. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a 15-inch paella pan. Add chopped ham and chorizo. Fry, stirring, for a few minutes. Remove to a warm platter. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt, add to pan and fry over high heat until golden on all sides. Remove to warm platter. Add squid, halibut, and swordfish to pan. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and fry for two to three minutes until brown. Remove to a warm platter. Add the shrimp and sauté about 3 minutes, or until barely pink. Remove to a warm platter. Add chopped onion, tomatoes, and peppers. Sauté until soft. Return cooked ham, chorizo, chicken, fish and shrimp to paella pan. Add parsley-garlic mixture. Add cooked clams and mussels, discarding any that have not opened.
Stir in rice and lemon juice. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour hot fish broth over rice, stirring. Brink to a fast boil. Decorate with large crayfish around the edge of paella pan. Simmer covered for 20 minutes, without stirring. Turn off heat and shake pan lightly to prevent rice from sticking. Cover with a dry towel for 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges and parley sprigs before serving.
For more party-worthy recipes, make the ultimate Caribbean cocktail: The Painkiller. Follow me on Forbes and Twitter.
