Paella

Definition of Paella

From the pan of pans
Many call it paellera , but deep-rooted valencians disagree: the large, black pan has given the Valencian national dish its name-it must, therefore, be called paella plain and simply. The term comes from the Latin patella , a flat plate on which offerings were made to the gods. By the 16 th century the Castilian word paila was being used for a vessel similar to the paella pan, while the word paela already existed in Valenciano.

History

The Valencians ' national dish originated in the country outside the city, and it was the agricultural workers who were the first to make a fire in the fields at lunchtime and cook rice in a flat pan. They added what they could find to the pan. They cooked snails and vegetables with the rice; on special occasions rabbit, and later chicken, was added. Beside this traditional “original paella,” Valencians are particularly fond of paella marinera with fish and seafood, and paella mixta with fish, seafood, and meat. Paella, however, can also include liver, blood sausage, artichokes, and other ingredients.

 

Legend about the origin of Paella.

Paella came from the Arab-dominated Era which had existed the custom to make this dish with cus-cus, but, unfortunately, there wasn't the important ingredient, therefore they began to cook with rice.

 

Traditions: Thursday Paella ( 20 century)

They still confuse between 2 hypothesis about the traditions of make paella on Thursday.

•  Late sharing
This tradition based on the fact that in the past the fishermen were free on Sunday, so Monday was the first day that people could buy fresh fish at the coast. The rest were distributed among them but not arrived to the village, not until Thursday that people prepared the dish of fish and rice.

•  Day of the servants liberation ( urban legend)
Some servants of the spanish francoist period narrated that Thursday was the liberated day, so the ladies of the house had to cook for her family. Anyhow the servants had prepared everything ready to cook on the night of Wednesday in order that the ladies didn't make the trouble and just put the rice and the ingredients into the paellera.

 

The other dish similar to Paella

It does not always have to be rice that is cooked in Valencia 's paella pans. Fideuà is a type of paella that puts noodles instead of rice. Fideuà is the original dish of Gandía ( Valencia ) where is nearby the Mediterranean Sea . In the harbor area of Gandía they insist that fishermen from the village had the idea when they no rice onboard their cutter. Wanting to eat the fish that they had caught, after the catch they found only noodles in the galley. There is now even a Concurso de la Fideuà which takes place annually in Gandía. Foreign cooks now come to Spain to take part in this competition and are more than able to hold their own against the Valencians.

There are many kinds of Paella that depend on which ingredients are used but the most popular is seafood paella and mixed paella that mixes between meat paella (chicken and rabbit) and seafood paella. You can taste it at Rioja Spanish Bar& Restaurant with 7 kinds of Paella i.e. Seafood Paella, Crab Meat Paella, Spicy Black Paella, Duck and Chorizo Paella, Pork Spare Rib Paella, Mixed Paella, Special Chef's Paella and also 2 kinds of Fideuà.

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