Paella

What goes in, and what does not

The authentic paella valenciana

• el pollo chicken
• el conejo rabbit
• la judía verde green beans
• el garrofón a large flat white bean from Valencia
• el tomate tomato
• el azafrán saffron, which gives the colour
• los caracoles snails — sometimes

Never, say Valencians

• el chorizo chorizo — Whoever puts chorizo in a paella is making something else.
• la cebolla onion
• los guisantes peas
• el marisco seafood — Not in the Valencian one — see the next group.

Other paellas

• la paella de marisco seafood paella, from the coast
• la paella mixta chicken and prawns together — What tourists order and Valencians photograph in horror.

• The authentic paella valenciana has chicken, rabbit, green beans, garrofón beans, tomato, saffron and sometimes snails.
• It has no chorizo, onion, peas or seafood; in Valencia, whoever puts chorizo in a paella is making something else.
• Seafood paella exists but is a dish of the coast; a paella with chicken and prawns together is, for a Valencian, a crime.

La paella valenciana auténtica lleva pollo, conejo, judía verde, garrofón, tomate, azafrán y, a veces, caracoles.

The authentic Valencian paella has chicken, rabbit, green beans, butter beans, tomato, saffron and, sometimes, snails.

No lleva chorizo, ni cebolla, ni guisantes, ni marisco; el que pone chorizo en una paella hace otra cosa, dicen en Valencia.

It has no chorizo, no onion, no peas, no seafood; whoever puts chorizo in a paella is making something else, they say in Valencia.

How it is made

1. sofreír Fry the meat In olive oil until golden; then the vegetables, the tomato and the paprika.
2. el agua Add the water Let it boil for a while.
3. el arroz Throw in the rice Only then, in the shape of a cross — and do not touch it again. Stirring the rice is the second crime.
4. seco y suelto Let it dry The rice must end up dry and loose, never soupy like a risotto.
5. el socarrat Fight over the bottom The best part is the socarrat, the layer of toasted rice stuck to the pan.

• The meat is fried first, then the vegetables, tomato and paprika; water is added and only then the rice, which is not touched again.
• The rice should be dry and loose, never soupy like a risotto. The socarrat, the toasted layer at the bottom, is the part diners fight over.
• Paella is the name of the pan: the wide, shallow pan with two handles. Valencians say un arroz when they mean the dish.

Se añade el agua, se deja hervir un rato, y solo entonces se echa el arroz, en forma de cruz, y no se toca más.

The water is added, it is left to boil for a while, and only then is the rice thrown in, in the shape of a cross, and not touched again.

Es importante que el arroz quede seco y suelto, nunca caldoso como un risotto.

It is important that the rice ends up dry and loose, never soupy like a risotto.

A midday dish, and a dish for the sun

Paella was born in the huerta, the irrigated farmland around Valencia, where rice has been grown for more than a thousand years. Farm workers cooked it at midday in the fields with what they had: rice, oil, vegetables and some small animal, over a wood fire.

It is still a Sunday lunch, eaten with the family, and best made in the open air over orange-tree wood. Traditionally it was eaten straight from the pan with a wooden spoon, each person keeping to their own section of the circle. Having paella for dinner is, for Valencians, as strange as having it for breakfast; the restaurants that serve it at nine at night are serving foreigners.

And if someone argues with you about paella, do not concede too soon. In Valencia the argument is part of the dish.

• Paella was born in the huerta of Valencia, in the east of Spain, where rice has been grown for more than a thousand years.
• It is eaten on Sundays at midday with the family, and is best made over orange-tree wood in the open air.
• For Valencians it is a midday dish: having paella for dinner is as strange as having it for breakfast.

La paella se come los domingos al mediodía, en familia, y se hace mejor sobre leña de naranjo, al aire libre.

Paella is eaten on Sundays at midday, with the family, and it is best made over orange-tree wood, in the open air.

Cenar paella es, para los valencianos, tan raro como desayunarla: es un plato de mediodía, y de sol.

Having paella for dinner is, for Valencians, as strange as having it for breakfast: it is a midday dish, and a dish for the sun.

Si alguien discute contigo sobre la paella, no le des la razón demasiado pronto: en Valencia, la discusión también forma parte del plato.

If someone argues with you about paella, don't concede too soon: in Valencia, the argument is part of the dish too.