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, vege...