Las Caletas

One of the great things about food is the memories it evokes.  I am making paella, and my mind is jumping back to a trip I took several years ago with my daughter, Jenny.

We met in Puerto Vallarata on a sultry July day.  I flew in from Las Vegas; Jenny, from Denver.  After making our way through the throng of time-share hawkers, we arrived at our own venue, which was astonishingly beautiful.  The reservation desk was in a large open-air room and halls led to manicured green lawns and pathways that took guests to restaurants, stores, pools, and the beach.

After a welcoming Margarita, we studied the tour options that Jenny had carefully researched.  I opted out of the jungle zip line, but was enthusiastic about the trip to Las Caletas, which promised a boat ride to a private cove, snorkeling, a jungle hike, and a paella cooking lesson.

When we arrived at the private cove that was once the home of John Huston, we learned how to put on our snorkeling equipment and to walk backwards into the water, which was easier said than done.  I’ve always been leery of swimming in the ocean.  I just don’t like the idea of things I can’t see—like jelly fish and sharks—lurking somewhere near my legs.  But to my surprise, I loved snorkeling.  Even when I saw an eel on the ocean floor, I was delighted by its beauty and not at all worried by its proximity. 

After the snorkeling lesson, we headed to an outdoor kitchen that was composed of several brick charcoal barbecues.  Here we were handed a recipe for seafood paella.  I don’t know why I had a pen in my beach bag, but I did, and as I stood there in my swimsuit and shorts, I began to take meticulous, graduate-school-type notes as our guide described the ingredients and techniques for the paella.  Even though I had made paella for years before this, I learned several really important things that day.  One is to use the ingredients at hand.  Our guide pointed to the ocean as he said this.  Well, there isn’t an ocean in Las Vegas, so I interpreted this to mean what was readily available at my supermarket.  (This is important because in the past, I have literally driven myself crazy running from one store to another to find the exact ingredients called for in a paella recipe.)

The second thing I learned was to cook it in one pan as the Spaniards surely did when they prepared the dish.  I sighed with relief when I learned this.  I had been using a recipe that make the dish in multiple steps and involved a lot of labor.  This new technique set me free.

The third thing I learned was to use parboiled rice.  It doesn’t stick, so it gives good results every time

When the cooking lesson ended, I put my notes in my beach bag, and we headed into the jungle for a nature hike.  We learned about the flora and the birds and viewed a magnificent orchid garden.  Then, we went to a center where we could touch parrots and monkeys.  I literally had a monkey on my back that day.

After the hike, we went back to camp.  The smell of paella with its unique aroma of saffron, rice, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and seafood greeted us.  As I lifted the first bite to my mouth, I decided it was truly a day in paradise, a perfect combination of scenery, food, and family, the stuff memories are made of.

The following is my adaptation of the recipe from Las Caletas.  You can get the original recipe at www.vallarta-adventures.com.

Seafood Paella

3 ¾ C. hot water

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 T. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 C. parboiled white rice

2-4 tomatoes, chopped

½ lb. bay scallops

½ lb. squid rings

½ lb. monk fish or other white fish

1 pinch saffron, softened in ¼ C. hot water

1 C. fresh or frozen peas, defrosted

½ lb. medium shrimp—defrosted raw peeled and deveined with tails on

12-15 mussels

Dissolve the bouillon cube in the hot water. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or paella pan on medium-high. Add the onion, peppers and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent. Stir in the rice and brown slightly.  Add the tomatoes, scallops, squid, and monk fish and stir. Next, add the saffron and its water, the 3 ¾ C of water, the bouillon cube and the peas.  Stir well.  Place the shrimp and mussels into the top of the rice mixture.  Reduce heat.  Cover with a lid or foil and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (approximately 30 minutes).  Discard any mussels that do not open and serve from the pan.