Paella

Just about everything surrounding Paella is steeped in controversy - the origin of the name, the origin of the dish itself, the ingredients that are put together to make up this wonderful dish as well as the method of preparing the dish. Everything, except one - there is no controversy about it’s ranking in Spanish cuisine. Paella is the undisputed dish of Spain. In fact you cannot think of one and not the other; Paella is synonymous with Spain.

Paella was originally a meal eaten by the peasants of Valencia. It was cooked in the fields over an open fire and eaten directly from the pan using wooden spoons.  They used a characteristic pan to cook the rice and then added ingredients that were easily available in the countryside such as tomatoes and onions as well as any meat they could find including chicken, duck, snail or rabbit. Snail was most commonly used as it was the cheapest and most easily available, duck and rabbit were kept for special occasions and only the richer among them could afford chicken. There was certainly no seafood available in the fields of Valencia and the labourers could not afford to buy it, thus discounting the theory that the original paella was a seafood dish. Gradually this Valencian rice dish became increasingly more popular and by the close of the nineteenth century it was the rage all over Spain.

Another legend has it that the servants of the Moorish kings mixed the leftovers from royal banquets and took them home in large pots, where they mixed it together with rice and thus got a wholesome and tasty meal. According to this legend the word ‘paella’ originated from the Arabic word ‘baqiyeh’, which means leftovers. Though it has been established that it was the Moors who introduced rice to the Spaniards, ‘paella’ does seem a long way from ‘baqiyeh’. Nevertheless, there is a strong possibility the word does have Arabic origins.

There are, however, others who insist the dish paella gets it name from the pot it is cooked in. ‘La paella’ is an old Valencian word and refers to a cooking utensil that was traditionally made of iron. The base of the paella is flat and thick, and the pan itself is shallow and circular with two round handles on opposite sides.

Another very interesting version is that paella comes from the Spanish “para ella”, which means ‘for her’. According to this legend, the first paella was made by a man for his fiancée. Later on, paellas were mostly made by men who decided to cook once a week for their wives. So the story goes…

Paella has come a long way since the days of yore. It has travelled the long journey from the peasants and the fields and is today one of Spain’s most popular dishes and can even be seen on the tables of kings.

Paella is a dish best eaten when the whole family gets together. Cooking paella the traditional way, outdoors over an open wood fire is occasion for plenty of animated discussion on which is the best way to do it, with everyone present convinced that they know best how to make it. The cooking of the paella becomes an occasion in itself and is a live mixture of ceremony, party and debate.

Festival days see paella being cooked in giant paelleras that are big enough to feed everybody. Everybody takes turns stirring and adding their favourite ingredients, giving each paella dish a unique and distinct flavour.

Nowadays, every region has its own version of paella, each with its own characteristic ingredients. The traditional Paella Valencia is the original paella which is made with chicken, rabbit or pork. Don’t expect to see any prawns in this version of paella.

If you are looking for paella with prawns, try the Paella Marisco, which also contains mussels and calamaris along with succulent prawns. For the best of both worlds, try the Paella Mixta, which contains an irresistible combination of seafood as well as meat. Paella Negra, a seafood paella cooked in squid ink, was made for the adventurous and the brave hearted.

With white beans, eggplant, artichokes and peppers, Paella Vegetariana is a surprising break from tradition. However, nobody quite knows how or where this vegetarian version of paella originated from.