classic tradition
FIRE & RICE
Traditional Paella Valenciana (Photo Courtesy)
HOW PAELLA WENT LATIN BY ANA KINKAID Ana Kinkaid’s interest in Latin cuisine began as she traveled the world as the daughter of an American diplomat. The sought-after culinary consultant works with companies seeking to share their unique stories with chefs and restaurateurs. Her clients range from Stash Tea to Taylor Shellfish Farms. Ms. Kinkaid is a regular speaker on emerging world food trends at The Culinary Institute of America and American Culinary Federation conferences, where she shared this talk about the history of the iconic dish and kindly agreed to share it with our readers.
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In Veracruz, the Spanish found a previously unknown vegetable that matched perfectly with rice, peppers and shellfish - the tomato. (Photo by Carole Topalian)
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edible San Antonio
THE WINTER ISSUE
s interest in Latin food grows, one of the most popular yet mysterious dishes is paella. The story of paella begins when the Moors of North Africa conquered most of Spain in 710 AD. The advanced culture brought new breakthroughs in agriculture, science and medicine to the weary peninsula. They built the magnificent Alhambra, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and even translated the Gospels from Latin into the Spanish of the day so that all might read them. The Moors ruled with tolerance and understanding until 1492.