Spain Travel―Experiencing the Paella Dish

Paella is probably one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. It is a Spanish rice dish originally from Valencia. Paella takes its name from the wide, shallow traditional pan used to cook the dish on an open fire. Paella means "frying pan" in Valencian, Valencia's regional language.

 

Variations of Paella

Paella valenciana is the traditional paella of the Valencia region, believed to be the original recipe, and consists of round grain rice, bajoqueta and tavella (varieties of green beans), rabbit, chicken, sometimes duck, garrofó (a variety of lima or butter bean), and optionally snails. Artichoke hearts and stems may be used as seasonal ingredients. Olive oil is used as a base, and saffron and (sometimes) whole rosemary branches are used as a seasoning.

Paella de marisco (seafood paella) replaces meat with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables, while paella mixta (mixed paella) is a free-style combination of meat from land livestock, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans.

Other popular local variations of paella are cooked all through the Mediterranean area, the rest of Spain and internationally.

Personal Experience at Seville

The best restaurants in Spain usually located in narrow alleys, not the main streets.  At Seville, I had the most memorable experience of enjoying paella at an unknown restaurant near Catedral de Sevilla.  Hiding in a narrow alley and away from the crowd, I had the fortune to run into this small restaurant in Sevilla (or English: Seville).  

After I have ordered this unique dish called Squid Ink Paella, the restaurant chef came out to meet me and told me that the squid ink itself is salty.  So, I agreed that we should make it less salty.  What shows in Figure 1 includes sangria and paella.

Figure 1.  The most popular drink Sanria and the best-known dish paella

Spanish sangría is an alcoholic punch. The sangria traditionally consists of red wine and chopped fruit, often with other ingredients or spirits. Sangria may probably be the most popular drink from Spanish cuisine.

Personal Experience at Valencia

On the way to Seville, I have joined a tour and we have stopped by Valencia.  Paella is said to be originated from Valencia.  With three other tour members, we have selected a restaurant named LoLola located in an alley of Valencia's Old Town.  In the above video, it shows the waiter serving us the dish from the pan.

All our members agreed that this Paella de marisco (seafood paella) served was very good.  Before we ordered, we also reminded the waiter that less salt to be added in our paella.  The rice tasted was very crunchy.  Even it seems that the portion served was relatively small.  But, it filled up our stomach very well.  After back to the tour bus, other tour members said that their paella didn't taste so good and some said that it only cost them 5 €, etc.  Our dish costs us about 20 € each.  But, we all felt worth it.

References

1. Paella (Wikipedia)