Packets of Perfection (Vesta Paella)

Member Name: Lunah_C

Product:	Vesta Paella
Date:	19/12/06 (1308 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to cook, tasty

Disadvantages: None

I am not in the habit of surviving on Ready Meals or the such but I like to have a couple in the cupboard for emergencies.

One of my favourites is the Paella made by Vesta. It’s something that my Mum used to buy when I was a child, so I have grown up on it, and quite unusually for something that has been around for a while, the taste has never changed.

Not feeling 100% I decided to go for an easy dinner today and pulled the packets out of the cupboard.

~~~Price~~~
Expect to pay between £1.50 - £1.75 a box. Each box is 146g and Serves One.

The price is pretty much on par for a meal for one so whilst it may seem a little expensive is not in reality.


~~~What do you get~~~
In the cardboard box, which has a handy little pull down part to ease opening, you will find two sachets. One is the rice the other the sauce mix.

~~~Ingredients~~~
One thing worth remembering is that this is not a fresh authentic dish and is designed to last for a while (At least two years according to my box).

Ingredients include rice, dried vegetables like as in soup, dried prawns, a few flavour enhancers and a colouring.



It also contains milk powder and wheat flour, so not advisable for anyone with such allergies. There is no mention of nuts, nor any possible contact.

~~~Cooking~~~
There are two ways you can cook this meal. Either in the microwave or on the hob.

Microwaving. This is the easiest method as you simply put both sachets into a bowl, add butter, add a pint of boiling water, then cover and microwave for 19 minutes (650W)

Hob. Normally I would go for the microwave method but as I was using 3 packets it was not really an option due to the amount I was making.

To cook on the hob first you need to melt some butter then add the rice. You fry this for a couple of minutes until it has a transparent appearance. Remove it from the hob and then add 22ml of cold water and the sauce sachet. Bring this to the boil before simmering for 20 minutes.

Strangely it takes just as long to cook on the hob as in the microwave, but is just slightly more involved as you need to stir it often, and add the sachets separately.

~~~Taste Test~~~
Served up in bowls we all dig in. Ignoring the calories (652 per box) and lack of healthy status, I concentrate on the texture and taste.

The rice is cooked to perfection and has a slightly sticky but very buttery coating to it. There are a few prawns dotted about but the flavour coming through is very much a seafood one. There is a reasonable amount of red peppers, carrots and peas amongst the rice which I think are there more for colour than flavour.

Personally I find one box to myself way too much, and am quite happy with half, but for those with a larger appetite it is a good sized portion.

I often serve it with a piece of hot buttered baguette since we have already ignored the possible cholesterol levels in this meal and as it is only a once in a while meal I don’t think it will hurt too much.

Overall, I would say whilst it may be continents away from the authentic Spanish version which overflows with various varieties of seafood it is still a very tasty alternative and ideal for those (like myself) who really can’t stand the thought of prising those poor fish out from their shells.

Summary: Fish flavoured rice with vegetables and prawns.