The Iberian Peninsula is increasingly a hot tourist destination. This awareness of Spain as the go-to place is fueled by a convergence of events.
After the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, tourism to Spain got a boost. Spanish business interests have increased exports of goods and foods to build Spain's image, as well as its economy.
When the Guggenheim Museum opened in Bilbao in 1997, art lovers on pilgrimage to the Basque country incidentally discovered the fabulous foods and chefs of that unique area -- food that goes far beyond gazpacho and sangria.
Spanish chef Ferran Adria, of foam and gelee fame, rocked professional chefs with his creativity at El Bulli restaurant outside Barcelona. Adria has been called a genius, madman, artist, poet and charlatan. Who better to influence and lead the best chefs in the world?
On another food front, nutritionists hail the Mediterranean diet as the most healthful of all. Spain, located on guess-what sea, with its reliance on olive oil and a culture that loves small meals in the tradition of tapas, gets an A-plus from the health police.
Shelter magazines such as Gourmet and Saveur have always jousted to be the first to bless the next new place, new taste, new destination. So it's no surprise that they regularly sing the praises of Spain, its lifestyle and its cuisine
Throw in Spain's nonfood come-ons, such as beautiful landscapes and beaches, diverse culture, exciting cities, superb museums, centuries of history, direct flights and good return on the American dollar.
No question. Spain is happening, baby. It's not all flamenco, bullfights, Hemingway and Picasso. American explorers are discovering Spain.
VALENCIA, Spain -- This city of about 2 million people lies about halfway down the Mediterranean coast of Spain. It is the home of the world-famous rice dish paella Valenciana and the universal symbol of Spanish gastronomy and Spain's best-known culinary export.
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Paella, the national dish of Spain, is basically saffron-laced rice studded with delectable edibles ranging from shellfish to spicy chorizo sausage. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
Like many great dishes of the world, paella began as a poor man's simple rice dish and became a rich man's elaborate presentation.
We spent a week in Valencia with friends last spring, on a quest to experience the real thing in its home town. Until then, we'd had only imitations and wannabes. Now we were in the land of rice paddies and the world headquarters of paella. What was the first thing we learned? Never judge a paella by its toppings.
In order to appreciate how Valencia became the epicenter of this emblematic dish, you have to understand Spanish rice.
Rice has been in the Iberian Peninsula since the eighth century. As everyone knows, an army marches on its stomach, and the invading Moors, who obviously planned to stay awhile, brought rice farmers along behind the troops. Europe's first rice fields were sown in the wetlands along the eastern coast of Spain, in an area surrounding the Albufera, a fresh water lagoon by the edge of the Mediterranean.
More than a thousand years later, we took a short drive south of Valencia to see a landscape of canals and marshes around the Albufera. The rice fields there are a legacy of the Moors, who harnessed the necessary water by developing a complex system of channels, wells and waterwheels. For centuries, farmers have maintained these areas, flooding the fields even during times of drought to guarantee the survival of the wetlands.
Though paella is called the national dish of Spain, it is a regional specialty, with Valencia only one of the 13 regions. Just as you aren't likely find great barbecue in Connecticut, you won't find a genuine paella in Extremadura or the Basque country.
What is paella?
The first paellas were invented to answer the age-old question, "What's for lunch?" They were cooked by rice threshers in the marshlands, who made their midday meals out-of-doors over open fires. The reapers used what was at hand -- rabbit, chicken, snails, vegetables and maybe duck if they could snare one. If there was a vegetable plot nearby, whatever crop was in season made its way into the pan. Sometimes it was artichokes, sometimes beans.
The pan they cooked in was called a paellera -- a paella pan -- a two-handled, wide, flat metal pan that looks much like a medieval shield. Its wide surface area over the fire allowed a lot of food to be cooked quickly using a minimum of precious fuel. The name paella refers to the cooking utensil, not necessarily to the finished dish.
In Valencia, paella is a Sunday dinner dish. An authentic Valencian paella does not contain seafood or sausage. Valencianos will tell you it isn't a dish of the seaside. Seafood paellas, they say, were concocted by restaurateurs who wanted to get more money for the gussied-up version.
It is always served in the afternoon, never at night, and is usually cooked by the men. Spanish men, like American men, rule outdoor cooking. Must be a global guy thing. The men take their ingredients with them to a picnic site and often build a fire with wood or any fuel that's handy. Paella buffs everywhere say this is the best and only way to cook, with the wood smoke perfuming the dish.
It's said that if you ask 10 Spanish men what goes into a paella, you'll get 30 answers, each man giving his recipe, his wife's and his mother's, with an occasional grandmother's thrown in for good measure. Every town, every person, every home chef adds his own touch. It varies from place to place and time to time depending on what's in the garden and what's in the fridge.
The only essential ingredients of any paella are olive oil, rice and saffron -- that figures when you know that Spain is Europe's No. 1 olive oil producer and No. 2 rice producer after Italy. Spain and Iran spar over which is the world's leading producer of saffron.
Paella can be elegant or picnic fare and can draw on a variety of possible ingredients: lobster, clams, mussels, squid, shrimp, chorizo sausage, chicken, rabbit, green beans, peas and peppers. Almost always, there are broad flat green beans and big white flat ones that look like pale lima beans.
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The wide, shallow paellera, or paella pan, allows a large amount of food to be cooked quickly using a minimum of fuel. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
There are all-vegetable paellas and one shockingly black paella made with squid ink. A Valencian specialty is a pasta-paella called fideua. It's made with a pasta called fideos, narrow, macaroni-shaped pasta with a center hole as thin as a needle.
But the best and most genuine paellas highlight one special ingredient, which may be chicken, pork, vegetables or seafood.
The right rice
The most important thing to know about paella is that the texture and flavor of the rice are the keys to the dish.
Thousands of varieties of rice are grown, but they can be loosely sorted out according to grain length. Spain has traditionally grown short-grain rice. Just as Italian cooks always use short-grain rice for risotto, Spanish cooks always use short-grain rice for paella. In both cases, the rice soaks up the flavor of the broth and its texture defines the finished dish.
Short-grain rice varieties are referred to as "pearls" because the center of the grain has a white mark or heart containing extra starch. This opaque white pearl favors the absorption of stock and the flavors of other ingredients, which makes it suitable for classic Mediterranean cooking. Long-grain or "crystal" varieties have no pearl and therefore have a lower starch content. When cooked, they remain loose and whole and are good for salads and dishes where separate grains are desired.
Narrowing the focus even more, the best short-grain rice is called bomba; it doubles or triples in length when cooked. It is also more difficult to overcook and doesn't get gummy and stick together, a boon to uncertain cooks. Unfortunately, bomba is expensive and hard to find.
Two other rice varieties, bahia and senia, are recommended, as is Calasparra, the only Spanish rice with its own denomination of origin. Italian Arborio rice is easiest to find in American supermarkets and will make a satisfactory if somewhat creamy paella. What you don't want to use is any type of rice that is fluffy, sticky or sweet.
Tradition says that when rice is added to the pan, cooks should add it by the fistful, making the sign of the cross as they let the rice fall between their fingers. But you won't have to pray for the success of your dish if you use the right rice in the first place.
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| | Do it on the grill Traditional Valencian paellas are cooked outdoors in the open air over a wood fire, so that the aroma of wood smoke perfumes the dish. You can do this in your own back yard. Build your fire with wood or hardwood charcoal on a grill big enough to hold your paella pan. A round kettle grill is perfect. Do not use a chemical starter fluid or your dish is apt to taste like it.
Once you have established a good hot bed of coals, you can make the whole thing on the grill, including sauteing the vegetables, chicken and any other meats. The fire needs to remain only hot enough to bring the liquid to a boil when you add the rice. If you throw sprigs of herbs or grapevines on the coals, their smoke will flavor delicate seafood. The fire can die down slowly while the rice cooks for about 20 minutes.
Many cooks find it a better idea to compose the broth and do the sauteing in the kitchen in advance. Bring the prepped ingredients to the grill and when the fire is ready, you have only to bring broth to a boil, add rice and complete the dish. Cooking times will vary according to the heat of the fire and the size of the pan. Adjust your cooking time accordingly.
-- Marlene Parrish | | |
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Getting it together
Paella is a great party dish; it looks dramatic and most prep steps can be done in advance. But paella can also be as simple a family dinner as any casserole. Always have all ingredients measured and chopped before beginning the dish, just as you would do for an Asian stir-fry. Here are a few points to remember.
Pan -- The classic metal pan is best, but a wide, shallow casserole dish also works well. To figure how many servings a paella pan contains, use the 10-plus rule of thumb for generous servings. A 14-inch (10 plus 4) pan will feed 4 guests, a 16-inch (10 plus 6) pan will feed 6, and so forth.
When entertaining at home, six-person paella is just about right. A 16-inch paella pan will fit into the oven, and six is a good number to gather around the table to eat out of the communal dish. Outdoors or at the beach, you might want to make a bigger paella, but your biggest problem won't have to do with the cooking, it will be where to store the pan when not in use.
Rice -- As a rough estimate, figure 1/2 cup dry, short-grain rice per serving. Two cups of rice will serve four generously and then some. Once the rice is added, stir to coat it well with the pan mixture so that the rice is glossed with olive oil. If you can't find Spanish rice, use Italian Arborio.
Saffron -- Despite its cost, don't be stingy. Saffron adds flavor and color to the dish. A good pinch of strands, when crushed, makes about 1/4 teaspoon of powder. Crush them with your fingers or between two teaspoons. Saffron wants to steep in broth before being added to the dish. Minor cheating is OK if you use just one or two drops of yellow food coloring to boost the color. Some of the best restaurants do it. But don't even think about using turmeric, a powdered yellow spice that lends strong color and flavor to Indian dishes.
Broth -- The success of a paella is directly related to its flavor and quality. Enhancing the flavor with broth is easy. Here's one way: When you clean the shrimp, reserve the shells. Toss shells into a saute pan with a little olive oil, and heat and cook until they turn red. Add chicken broth to cover and let it simmer quietly for about 5 minutes. Strain, discarding the shells. Keep the measured broth hot, but not boiling, before beginning the final cooking.
Heat source -- A paella can be made over a fire at a picnic site, on the backyard grill or in the kitchen. The safest, most consistent way to cook is to compose the dish on the top of the stove, add broth to the pan, bring it to a boil for brief cooking, about 10 minutes, then place the paella into the oven where it will cook evenly and may be timed accurately, about another 10 to 12 minutes. If the dish is made entirely on the stove top with the pan placed over two burners, the rice cooks unevenly.
The rule of chicken legs -- Most Americans love chicken, but there's only so much paella surface to cover, and shellfish takes a lot of that real estate. To make sure I have enough food for big eaters and to cover the preferences of my guests, I always saute seasoned chicken legs to the half-done stage. They finish cooking on the top shelf while the paella cooks below.
When is it done? -- Never cook the paella until it is completely done. The final cooking occurs during the resting stage. At the end of the recipe's recommended active cooking time, test the rice: it should be tender, but with a little kernel of resistance in the center. The only way to be sure is to bite into it. Remove the dish from the oven, cover with a towel or foil and let stand until the broth is absorbed and rice finished cooking, 5 to 10 minutes. The cooked rice grains should cling together but not be sticky.
Serving -- When the paella is ready, bring the dish to the table for the diners to admire. It's a tradition for paella to be eaten communally. If you can, put the finished dish on the table and let everyone eat his portion directly from the pan with a spoon. Another way with almost the same effect is for the hostess to spoon up individual servings but leave the pan in the center of the table. If the paella was made over a fire, lucky eaters can scoop up the crusty layer from the bottom of the pan, called the socorrat.
Menu -- Keep it simple. Pass olives and salted almonds. Offer an uncomplicated appetizer, such as gazpacho. Sure, it's a cliche, but so is the ubiquitous paella, if you think about it. Greens dressed with vinaigrette and a basket of country bread are the only companions needed. Dessert might be orange pinwheels and sugar cookies. Serve a robust, red wine such as a Rioja. Sangria or other wine coolers should be saved for paella cooked at the beach.
Related Recipe:
Ultimate Oven Paella
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