[English]
Don’t you dream of being able to prepare the good and authentic Valencian paella when you will be back in your country, to remember good memories and share this culinary wonder with your family and friends.
First of all we will tell you about the history of paella. It was created in the rural areas of Valencia between the XV and XVI centuries. The farmers needed to find a consistent meal, easy to prepare with the ingredients they already had.
The ingredients of the paella at this time were poultry, fresh vegetables that were available rabbit or hare, rice, olive oil and saffron that were mixed in the paella with water. Everything was cooked slowly over a fire made with wood from orange tree branches, which at the same time give a characteristic smell and flavor.
But where does this word come from?
There are a lot of theories about the origin of this word. It would come from the Arabic ‘baqiyah’ because the Arabic are the one who brought rice to the peninsula.
Another story, much more romantic, is also told according to which a man in love would have prepared this dish of rice for his beloved. The word could mean “for her” “pa(ra) ella” in spanish.
And indeed, although in Spain, as in many other societies, cooking is a woman’s job. The realization of the paella is often the role of the men.
There is no exact recipe for paella because it is a dish that can vary greatly depending on the ingredients. We can put mainly rabbit, duck, chicken, beef, tomatoes, beans, peppers, zucchini and onions. Nowadays many people like to combine it with seafood, it is called “paella mixta”.
Now let’s start with the recipe and remember that you can adapt the ingredients by yourself.
For 4 people you will need:
a paella pan (the typical pan used to make paella)
- 500 g rice (short/medium grain round variety, bomba is perfect)
- 200g green beans
- 200g butter beans
- 500g chicken
- 500g Rabbit
- 1 ripe tomato
- 60cl of olive oil
- salt
- 1 teaspoon mild paprika
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1.5 liters chicken or vegetable stock.
It’s time to start cooking:
Step 1: heat your paella pan with a medium-high heat, add the oil, sprinkle all of the salt in a circle towards the edge of the pan to prevent the oil from splashing
Step 2: when it’s getting warm add all the meat previously cut into small pieces and brown it for the next 20 minutes on all sides, turning it every 3-5 minutes to try to caramelize the meat a bit.
Step 3: Then after 20 minutes, push the meat in the sides of the pan making a circle. Add the green beans cut into one inch pieces into the circle. Sauté them for about 3 minutes.
Step 4: Put the saffron into hot water during at least 10 minutes to add it in the pan later.
Step 5: Then, do the same, put them aside with the meat forming a circle and put the butter beans and the garlic but try not to break the butter beans. Move them gently in the oil and garlic and brown them for 30 seconds on each side
Step 6: Add the paprika and sauté for one minute approximately, and then add the crushed tomato and the saffron soak previously into water. Now you can start to mix everything together. You can even scrape the pan and its contents with a wooden spoon. Add the stock and when it begins to boil it’s time to add the rice, the fire needs to be at its maximum and let’s cook for about 10 minutes, and then for 10 more minutes decrease the heat gradually. Once the liquid has evaporated you can let it for one or two minutes to have the so-called “socarrat” part, which is the caramelized and crispy part in the bottom.
Let the rice rest a little bit off of the heat and cover the paella with a dish towel for 5 minutes.
And let’s taste it !!!
If you are lucky enough to be in Valencia and want to try one and you are lazy we will suggest some restaurants:
La Cigrona
La Ferradura
El Racó de la paella
Alquería del Pou
LAVOE Arroz y Mar
Restaurante Ca Duart
Casa Carmela.
Otherwise, we organize a paella this Saturday at the Albufera, it will be the perfect time to meet new people, enjoy with your friends, have some drinks, and enjoy beautiful views.
If you want to join us for upcoming trips that we organize every weekend to discover the wonderful Comunidad Valenciana or have any questions, do not hesitate to send us a private message via Instagram. We will be happy to answer it!
We also organizelanguage exchanges on Tuesday evenings at Veles e Vents and Thursday evenings at the Big Ben bar near Blasco Ibanez. We would be very happy to meet you there.
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Have a lovely day & see you there 🙂
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