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Paella
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paella (pronounced IPA: [pa'eʎa]) is a rice dish, originally from Valencia (Spain) where it is often eaten on Sundays and during the Falles. There are many variations of it with different ingredients.
The name paella is the word for "frying pan" in Valencian (from Latin patella). However, the dish has become so popular in Spain that the word paellera is now usually used for the pan and paella almost exclusively for the dish. In the Valencia area, nevertheless, the name paella is commonly used for both the pan and the dish.
Paella is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three main ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil.
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Paella is generally cooked in a paella pan, which is a large, shallow, flat pan. First the meat, and then the vegetables are stir fried in olive oil; subsequently water is added and brought to a boil, in which point the rice is added. Real paella rice is never stir-fried in oil, as a pilaf. Once the rice is nearly done, the paella is removed from the heat and left to absorb the remaining water. Traditional paella has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom (called socarrat in Valencian) that is considered a delicacy. To achieve a socarrat, one needs only to turn up the heat to high and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once the aroma of toasted rice comes from the pan, the heat is removed once again. The paella is ready to be served after having cooled for several minutes.
For recipes, see Wikibooks:Cookbook:Paella.
It has become a custom for mass gatherings in Valencia — festivals, political campaigns, protests, etc — to prepare an enormous paella, sometimes to win a mention in the Guinness Book of Records. Ad hoc wide-diameter pans are commissioned for these cases.
Paella and its variations are typical picnic dishes for the Spanish spring and summer.
The dish is also typically consumed during the Falles in Valencia.
- Paella recipe Step-by-step
- Official Recipe from Valencia (in English)