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Seafood Paella for Two

Our menu combines Old World flavors with a taste of the New World to create a once in a lifetime experience

By Haley Lindgren and Allie West

Our senior culinary class at Flathead Valley Community College is pleased to introduce our capstone project: Eclipse, an Italian-Caribbean fusion concept inspired by the 2017 solar eclipse — two different yet remarkably compatible entities coming together for a fleeting moment in time. The solar eclipse was two minutes long; our capstone restaurant is only open for a few weekends! Our menu combines Old World flavors with a taste of the New World to create a once in a lifetime experience. We hope you’ll join us for dinner.

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil

• 1 cup bomba rice

• 2 Tbsp. paprika

• 1 dry bay leaf

• 1 tsp.  salt

• .25 oz. saffron

• 2 cups chicken stock

Heat oil in a sauce pan, then add rice, spices and stock. Cook until the rice is almost done, then cool it before placing it in the refrigerator.

• 1 1/2 artichoke hearts

• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

• 1 Tbsp. water

• 2 Tbsp. white wine

Sous vide artichokes with the lemon juice, water and white wine. If you don’t have a sous vide machine, you can achieve the same effect with a Ziploc bag, a digital thermometer and a pot of boiling water. Search “How to Sous Vide without the Fancy Machine” at www.marthastewart.com.

• 3 Tbsp. canola oil

• 1/2 minced onion

• 4 minced garlic cloves

• 2 minced anchovies

• 12 green olives

• 1/2  cup canned, diced tomatoes

• 1/4 cup sherry

• 2 cups bomba rice (from above)

• 1/4  cup white wine

• 1 lb. fresh mussels

• 4 oz. halibut fillet

• 6 peeled and deveined shrimp

• Salt as needed

• Smoked paprika to taste

• 3 Tbsp. hatchet parsley

• 2 lemon slices

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Sauté first four ingredients in a paella pan if you have one; otherwise, use a stainless steel or aluminum skillet. Add and sauté briefly in this order: artichokes, green olives, tomato. Then add the sherry, prepared bomba rice and white wine to pan. Arrange the mussels, fish and shrimp in pan.  Season to taste with the salt and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil for two minutes on the stovetop. Cover pan with a lid and place in prepared oven and bake for seven minutes. When finished cooking, garnish with parsley and squeeze a fresh lemon on top.

Haley Lindgren and Allie West are students at The Culinary Institute of Montana at Flathead Valley Community College. Eclipse is open to the community Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings October 12-28 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Arts & Technology building on campus. For more information, visit www.fvcc.edu/student-run-restaurant. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 871-6736.