Paella is a rice-based dish that was likely originally inspired by the Moorish people of Islamic Spain, who often made casseroles of
| rice, fish and spices for family gatherings and religious occasions, which established the custom of eating rice in Spain in its modern form. Many people outside of Spain think that paella is a sort of national dish of Spain but most Spaniards simply think of it as a regional Valencian dish–Valencians do, in fact, consider paella to be an important identity symbols. |
Now, there are three primary types of paella: Valencian paella, seafood paella, and mixed paella. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat, snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and does not contain green vegetables and beans. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables and sometimes beans. Today we’re going to be making the most famous of the three, Valencian paella, enjoy:
(Note: most paella chefs use calasparra or bomba rices for this dish, but use what you can get)
Additional Resources
The best Spanish cookbook I’ve tried (I’ve got several) is: Tapas, The Little Dishes of Spain, plus, if you’re really into paella and other Spanish rice dishes, another excellent one is: Paella! Spectacular Rice Dishes from Spain.
For a list of numerous Paella recipes you can try, there’s an extensive list at spain-recipes.com that looks lovely.
I also like PaellaPans.com, there’s some very good recipes that are all her own, and I like that site because it seems very Mom-and-Pop-ish and simple.