Paella - Now and Then

Valencia lays claim to being the birthplace of paella. It’s believed that it originated in the mid 19^th century in the area around La Albufera, 12 kilometres south of the city centre. So I just had to go there and sample the classic Spanish paella in its place of origin. I stayed in the quaint village of Perollonet for a week and consumed more paella in seven days that I had in the previous seven months. That’s how much I love paella. 

I tried the restaurants 'Mateu' in El Palmar along with both 'Blayet' and its neighbour 'Gaviotas' in Perollonet. I didn’t dare suggest to those running the fine restaurants there that paella may not have originated in Spain? I’d heard a rumour that paella actually began life in Italy. Many an Italian chef insists to me that this is the case. They remind me that the very word paella derives from the Latin word for pan; patella.

So what does Spanish born food historian Luis Benavides-Barajas make of that bold claim. He says: “Strictly speaking there is evidence that, as with so many Spanish dishes, the Italians first developed paella. History tells us that the Romans were making a dish resembling paella long before it came to Spain. “But what is clear is that the traditional Valencia paella is very much the dish that led the way in Spain during the last century or two. Valencia has every right to claim paella as its own, especially those who produce the best examples around La Albufera.” Phew! That’s alright then.

In her excellent book “Classic Spanish Cooking” the famous food writer Elisabeth Luard acknowledges the link. “The rice dishes of Spain are closer in spirit to Italy’s risotto – juicy, made with short grain rice – than they are to the dry cooked long grain rice of the East.” As for the food that kept the rice company in the pan, things have come a long way. In the 18^th century Valencianos used rats caught in the marshlands as the chief ingredient of paella. Today green vegetables, and not rodents, are a must for the dish to be true Valencia paella.

By the 19^th century Spanish people were often dining outside, consuming the contents of vast paella pans – just as they do these days, most weekends and at fiesta time. It’s at fiestas that you will see paella being cooked for entire villages and towns. The fire is often fuelled using orange and pine branches and with the assistance of pine cones.

One argument about paella surrounds the texture of the rice. I noticed on my travels that the rice was drier in Valencia than I was used to in, for example, Andalucia. Come over to The Tapas Lunch Company shop, where we have a great range of paella pans, equipment and ingredients covering all your needs - from dinner parties to event catering.