Reheating time: 10-15 minutes

Big day for us! Today marks the anniversary of our very first WECO dinner ever served. A year ago, Rachel and I were in our tiny kitchen in Belmont- probably freaking out and scrambling to pack like six bags for our friends and family. Hilarious. I remember saying to her, “30 people? That’s a lot… I don’t know…” I had NO IDEA. I didn’t think anyone wanted to eat what I liked to cook, but look at us now. A year later, a year wiser (maybe), and with a whole crew of amazing people. That’s what its all about. We may have started the thing, but now it’s just as much our dream as it is everyone’s- to bring you the best dinner around. Thanks to the hard work of our team, we have made it to a year- and we’re just so excited to see where we can go from here. Tonight’s dinner is flavor forward, fun and fresh. Get in there!

For the paella:

This is not paella. It’s basically risotto at this point. It’s damn near impossible to make traditional “paella” for a bajillion people, so we took a different approach. We made the rice and everything else so that you can get the crispy crust at home!

In a big nonstick pan (big, like bigger than you think. Or a paella pan if you have one), melt the paprika butter until foamy and hot. High heat! Once foamy, scoop the rice into the pan and flatten into an even layer. Let the rice fry over high heat for a minute, then cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to low. Let it sit on low, covered, for 5 minutes, then kill the heat. Leave it! Heat up everything else 🙂

For the shrimp and asparagus:

These are separate components, but for the sake of time, let’s broil them together! Simple. Kiss these components under the broiler to heat them through, and give them some color. On a sheet tray lined with aluminum, lay out the shrimp and asparagus and broil on high for 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway. Once they’re hot, scatter the shrimp on top of the rice in the pan, and plate up the asparagus on top of that amazing romesco, with the crispy capers on top!

For the salad:

You know the drill. Toss the salad into a mixing bowl with the sherry vinaigrette, give a season with s+p, and mix mix mix! 

To plate everything up:

Once everything is hot, you’re ready to go. The rice should have crisped up a bit in the paprika butter- so carefully scoop some rice and shrimp into your bowl. On a plate, go for a dollop of romesco and a couple sprigs of asparagus, sprinkle some capers on there, and leave some room for the salad 🙂

That’s it! Happy one year! We couldn’t do it without all of you. 

Thanks so much for making all our dreams a possibility 🙂 We love you!

Dinner is served, and solved. 

#weareweco