Paella (, ) is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella (), seafood paella () and mixed paella (), but there are many others as well. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck), land snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables and sometimes beans. Most paella chefs use calasparra or bomba which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan as well. Patella is also akin to the modern French poêle, the Welsh padell, the Italian padella, the Old Spanish padilla the Polish patelnia and the New Mexican Spanish puela.
Valencians use the word paella for all pans, including the specialized shallow pan used for cooking paellas. However, in most of Spain and throughout Latin America, the term paellera is more commonly used for this pan, though both terms are correct, as stated by the Royal Spanish Academy, the body responsible for regulating the Spanish language. Paelleras are traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with two handles.
A popular but inaccurate belief in the Arab world is that the word paella derives from the Arabic word for leftovers, baqiyah, (Arabic script: بقية) because it was customary among Arab sailors to combine leftovers of previous meals which purportedly led to a paella-like creation in Moorish Spain.
Valencian paella
On special occasions, 18th century Valencians used
paelleras to cook rice in the open air of their orchards near lake
Albufera. Marsh
rat was one of the main ingredients of early paellas, along with
eel and
butter beans. Novelist
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez described the Valencian custom of eating marsh
water rats, a type of animal similar to the
beaver that lives in clean fresh water, in his novel
Cañas y barro (1902), a realistic account of life among the fishermen and peasants near the Albufera lake. This animal is no longer consumed.
Living standards rose with the sociological changes of the late 19th century in Spain, giving rise to reunions and outings in the countryside. This led to a change of paella's ingredients as well, these being rabbit, chicken, duck and sometimes snails. This dish became so popular that in 1840 a local Spanish newspaper first used the word paella to refer to the recipe rather than the pan.
During the 20th century, paella's popularity spread past Spain's borders. As other cultures set out to make paella, the dish invariably acquired regional influences. Consequently, paella recipes went from being relatively simple to including a wide variety of seafood, meat, sausage, (the most popular being Spanish, chorizo) vegetables and many different seasonings. However, the most globally popular recipe is seafood paella.
In Spain, but not in Valencia, mixed paella is very popular. Some restaurants in Spain (and many in the United States) that serve this mixed version, refer to it as Valencian paella. However, Valencians insist only the original two Valencian recipes are authentic. They generally view all others as inferior, not genuine or even grotesque.
Valencian paella
This recipe is standardized because Valencians consider it traditional and very much part of their culture. Rice in Valencian paella is never
braised in oil, as
pilau, though the paella made further southwest of Valencia often is.
Heat oil in a paellera.
Sauté meat after seasoning with salt.
Add green vegetables and sauté until soft.
Add garlic (optional), grated tomatoes, beans and sauté.
Add paprika and sauté.
Add water, saffron (and/or food coloring), snails and rosemary.
Boil to make broth and allow it to reduce by half.
Add rice and simmer until rice is cooked.
Garnish with more fresh rosemary.
Seafood paella
Recipes for this dish vary somewhat, even in Valencia. Below is a recipe by Juanry Segui, a prominent Valencian chef.
Make a seafood broth from shrimp heads, onions, garlic and bay leaves.
Heat oil in a paellera.
Add mussels. Cook until they open and then remove.
Sauté Norway lobster and whole, deep-water rose shrimp. Then remove both the lobster and shrimp.
Add chopped cuttlefish and sauté.
Add shrimp tails and sauté.
Add garlic and sauté.
Add grated tomato and sauté.
Add rice and braise in sofrito.
Add paprika and sauté.
Add seafood broth and then saffron (and/or food coloring).
Add salt to taste.
Replace the deep-water rose shrimp, mussels and Norway lobster.
Simmer until rice is cooked.
Mixed paella
There are countless mixed paella recipes. The following method is common to most of these. Seasoning depends greatly on individual preferences and regional influences. However, salt, saffron and garlic are almost always included.
Make a broth from seafood, chicken, onions, garlic, bell peppers and bay leaf.
Heat oil in a paellera.
Sear red bell pepper strips and set aside.
Sear crustaceans and set aside.
Season meat lightly with salt and sauté meat until golden brown.
Add onions, garlic and bell peppers. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
Add grated tomatoes and sauté.
Add dry seasonings except for salt.
Add rice.
Braise rice until covered with sofrito.
Add broth.
Add salt to taste.
Add saffron (and/or food coloring) and mix well.
Simmer until rice is almost cooked.
Replace crustaceans.
Continue simmering until rice and crustaceans are finished cooking.
Garnish with seared red bell pepper strips.
For all recipes
Paella usually has a layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan called
socarrat in Spain. This is considered a delicacy there and is essential to a good paella. The toasted rice develops on its own if the paella is cooked over a burner or open fire. If cooked in an oven, however, it will not. To correct this, place the
paellera over a high flame while listening to the rice toast at the bottom of the pan. Once the aroma of toasted rice wafts upwards, remove it from the heat. The paella must then sit for about five minutes (most recipes recommend the paella be covered with a towel at this point) to absorb the remaining broth.
Competitions and records
It has become a custom at mass gatherings in the Valencian Community (festivals, political campaigns, protests, etc.) to prepare enormous paellas, sometimes to win mention in the
Guinness Book of World Records. Chefs use gargantuan
paelleras for these events.
Valencian restaurateur Juan Galbis claims to have made the world's largest paella with help from a team of workers on 2 October 2001. This paella fed about 110,000 people according to Galbis' former website. Galbis says this paella was even larger than his earlier world-record paella made on 8 March 1992 which fed about 100,000 people. Galbis's record-breaking 1992 paella is listed in Guinness World Records.
Similar dishes
(also called
arroz negro and
paella negra)]]
Traditional Valencian cuisine offers recipes similar to
paella valenciana and
paella de marisco such as
arròs negre,
arròs al forn,
arròs a banda and
arròs amb fesols i naps.
Fideuà is a noodle dish variation of the paella cooked in a similar fashion, though it may be served with
allioli sauce.
The following is a list of other similar rice dishes:
Thieboudienne
Biriyani
Arroz a la valenciana
Arroz con pollo
Arròs negre
Jambalaya
Pilaf
Risotto
Jollof Rice
See also
Valencian cuisine
Spanish cuisine
Hispanic cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine
References
External links
Paella and the Carnestoltes Carnival in Catalonia, Spain
Traditional Paella, from Valencia, Spain
Paella, en Barcelona, Spain
Category:Spanish cuisine
Category:Rice dishes
