Gastronomy is one of the biggest Spanish successes all over the world. Spanish food is well considered everywhere both for its quality and for being very healthy. The Spanish food culture is a varied form of preparing different dishes; a variety that can be seen in the different types of foods in the several Spanish regions. Original gastronomy that combines both the rural style and the coastal one, representing a diversity formed by different cultures, climates and landscapes.
Spanish gastronomy is so rich. You can find fish (bacalao al pil pil), seafood (langosta, gambas), great variety of potatoes, the famous tortilla, meat (cochinillo), the gazpacho… and, of course, the paella.
March 27th is the annual observance of National Spanish Paella Day. Traditionally, at lunchtime, Valencian workers in the fields would make the rice dish in a flat pan over a fire. They mixed in whatever they could find – such as rabbits, snails, and vegetables. Later, for special occasions, they added chicken.
Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish that features different protein sources (often meat or fish); a variety of veggies (including green beans, peas and peppers), and spices like paprika and saffron. According to tradition in Valencia, you need to cook paella over an open fire, with orange and pine branches along with pine cones.
There are a lot of different types of paella, so you can choose the one that fits better with your taste. Valencian paella, for instance, consists of rice, olive oil, meat, salt, green vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, beans, paprika (to color the paella), sauté, water, saffron and rosemary. After cooking paella, there is usually a layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan, called socarrat in Catalan. This is a delicacy among connoisseurs and is essential to a good paella.
Although paella is a Valencian dish, there are also great restaurants in Madrid that serve paella as their specialty. You can try the traditional restaurant “Casa de Valencia”, inaugurated by the King and Queen of Spain in 1975. Also the more modern “Restaurante Samm”, with its typical Valencian paella made of chicken, rabbit and vegetables. Finally, another good option could be the “Bar La Gloria”, awarded by wikipaella.org as one of the best Valencian paellas all around the world.
There are different ways to prepare a paella, here are some links to well-known websites giving advices for cooking a delicious paella: https://www.epicurious.com/
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In conclusion, paella has become one of the most recognizable Spanish dishes, for its originality and good taste. Paella is, without a doubt, one of Spain‘s most well-known and well-loved culinary delights. And it is famous all around the globe. Even there is an emoji of a paella!