Paella

Paella

File:Red paella with mussels.jpg Seafood paella
Origin
Region or state	Valencia
Details
Course served	Main course
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredient(s)	White rice, chicken, rabbit, vegetables (Valencian Paella) White rice, seafood (Seafood Paella)
Approximate calories per serving	150
Other information	Popular throughout: Western Europe The Americas Philippines United Kingdom

Paella (Valencian pronunciation: [paˈeʎa] or [pəˈeʎə], Spanish: [paˈeʎa]; English approximation: /paɪˈʲɛlə/ or US /pɑːˈʲeɪə/) is a Valencian rice dish with ancient roots that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain adjacent to the city of Valencia. The dish is widely regarded as Spain's national dish, as well as a regional Valencian dish; Valencians regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.

Types of paella include Valencian paella (Spanish: paella valenciana), vegetarian/vegan paella (Spanish: paella de verduras), seafood paella (Spanish: paella de marisco), and mixed paella (Spanish: paella mixta), but there are many others as well. Valencian paella is believed to be the original recipe and consists of white rice, green beans (bajoqueta and tavella), meat (chicken and rabbit), white beans (garrofón), snails, and seasoning such as saffron and rosemary. Another very common but seasonal ingredient is artichoke. Seafood paella replaces meat with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of land animals, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans. Most paella chefs use calasparra or bomba rices. All types of paellas use olive oil.

Etymology

Paella is a Valencian / Catalan word which derives from the Old French word paelle for pan, which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan as well. Patella is also akin to the modern French poêle, the Italian padella and the Old Spanish padilla.

Valencians use the word paella for all pans, including the specialized shallow pan used for cooking paellas. However, in most other parts 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 in Spain. Paelleras are traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with two handles.

A popular but inaccurate belief in Arabic-speaking countries is that the word paella derives from the Arabic word for leftovers, baqiyah, (Arabic script: بقية) because it was customary among the servants of Moorish kings to combine the leftovers of a banquet for royal guests, purportedly leading to a paella-like creation in Moorish Spain.

History

Possible origins

Raw bomba rice

In Moorish Spain, farmers improved the old Roman irrigation systems along the Mediterranean coast. This led to greater yields in rice production. Consequently, residents of the Valencian region often made casseroles of rice, fish and spices for family gatherings and religious feasts, thus establishing the custom of eating rice in Spain. This led to rice becoming a staple by the 15th century. Afterwards, it became customary for cooks to combine rice with vegetables, beans and dry cod, providing an acceptable meal for Lent. Along Spain's eastern coast, rice was predominantly eaten with fish.

Spanish food historian Lourdes March notes that the dish "symbolizes the union and heritage of two important cultures, the Roman, which gives us the utensil and the Arab which brought us the basic food of humanity for centuries."

Valencian paella

On special occasions, 18th century Valencians used calderos to cook rice in the open air of their orchards near lake Albufera. Water vole meat 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 water voles in Cañas y Barro (1902), a realistic novel about life among the fishermen and peasants near lake Albufera.

Living standards rose with the sociological changes of the late 19th century in Spain, giving rise to gatherings and outings in the countryside. This led to a change in paella's ingredients as well, using instead 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.

The most widely used, complete ingredient list of this era was as follows: short-grain white rice, chicken, rabbit, snails (optional), duck (optional), butter beans, great northern beans, runner beans, artichoke (a substitute for runner beans in the winter), tomatoes, fresh rosemary, sweet paprika, saffron, garlic (optional), salt, olive oil and water. Poorer Valencians, however, sometimes used nothing more than snails for meat. Valencians insist that only these ingredients should go into making modern Valencian paella.

Seafood and mixed paella

Traditional preparation of paella

On the Mediterranean coast, Valencians used seafood instead of meat and beans to make paella. Valencians regard this recipe as authentic as well. In this recipe, the seafood is served in the shell. A variant on this is paella del senyoret which utilizes seafood without shells. Later, however, Spaniards living outside of Valencia combined seafood with meat from land animals and mixed paella was born. This paella is sometimes called "preparación barroca" (baroque preparation) due to the variety of ingredients and its final presentation.

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, (even chorizo) vegetables and many different seasonings. However, the most globally popular recipe is seafood paella.

Throughout non-Valencian Spain, 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.

Basic cooking methods

According to tradition in Valencia, paella is cooked over an open fire, fueled by orange and pine branches along with pine cones. This produces an aromatic smoke which infuses the paella. Also, dinner guests traditionally eat directly out of the paellera.

Some recipes call for paella to be covered and left to settle for five or ten minutes after cooking.

Valencian paella

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 pilaf, though the paella made further southwest of Valencia often is.

• Heat oil in a paella.
• 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 (optional) and rosemary.
• Boil to make broth and allow it to reduce by half.
• Remove the rosemary once flavour has infused or it starts to fall apart.
• Add rice and simmer until rice is cooked.
• Garnish with more fresh rosemary.

Seafood paella

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 chunks of whitefish.
• 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

Plate of paella with Aioli

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

After cooking paella, there is usually a layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan, called socarrat in Spain. This is considered a delicacy among Spaniards 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, it is removed from the heat. The paella must then sit for about five minutes (most recipes recommend the paella be covered with a tea-towel at this point) to absorb the remaining broth.

Competitions and records

File:Paella Weltrekord 1992.JPG

Guinness World Record 1992 in Valencia

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

File:Arroz negro.gif

Arròs negre (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
• Arroz con gandules
• Arròs negre
• Jambalaya
• Pilaf
• Risotto
• Jollof rice
• Arroz meloso

See also

• Latin American cuisine
• List of rice dishes
• Mediterranean cuisine
• Spanish cuisine

External links

• Paella Recipe
• Original Paella Recipe from Valencia Spain
• Blog on cooking paella