What is paella? Paella at home - recipes from Spanish cuisine.

When visiting a country, you want to get to know its culture, see the sights, enjoy communicating with people, and be sure to visit a cafe or restaurant where local chefs cook excellent food.
Russians will traditionally offer guests rich cabbage soup, Romanians - sarmale, Croatians - page cheese, Italians - pizza. When in Austria you must try Wiener schnitzel, and Spanish cuisine prides itself on its dishes that feature a combination of flavors. Tapas, tortilla española, gazpacho, gambas ajiyo are tried by all tourists. Mediterranean cuisine will remain undiscovered by the traveler if he does not know what paella is. There are legends about the most delicious national dish. They are also worth studying.

Origin of the dish

The symbol of Spain, its pride is considered to be delicious paella, prepared from the most delicious products grown on sunny soil. The base of the dish is rice. Other products go well with it, but adding saffron and olive oil is a must.
It is no coincidence that the dish received its famous name paella. It was originally prepared in a vessel called patella by the Spaniards. This is a deep polished steel frying pan with two handles. The Poles call such a frying pan patelnia, the Italians call it padella, and the French call it poêle. Previously, the delicacy was prepared not on stoves, but right in the courtyards, over a fire. This dish smelled of freshness and smoke. It was always served with onions instead of bread.
Valencia is considered the small homeland of paella, where rice has been prepared in Valencian style since the first millennium. Back then the dish was completely different from what it is today. Rice was cooked in chicken broth, often with poultry giblets added. In the Middle Ages it appeared huge amount options for preparing paella.

Continuation of traditions

Over time, the dish gained such popularity that it became a holiday dish. Fairs were held periodically in all cities. A rice treat was being prepared on the fire right outside. They distributed food for free, thereby attracting buyers to their ranks. The tradition of holding paella festivals and organizing competitions for best cooking dishes. You can still try paella, soaked in the aroma of smoke, cooked over a fire, on national holidays.
In many provinces of Spain, the tradition remains to serve paella on Sunday. The celebration of St. Joseph's Day - March 19 - is not complete without a rice masterpiece.
Types of paella
Rice is considered the main ingredient of paella. Other components are added to it, changing the composition of the dish. The Spaniards claim that in the country there are at least 300 recipes for preparing the national dish, and each time its taste will be excellent.
The classification of types is arbitrary, since the range of products is constantly changing. And yet paella happens:
with black rice;
with seafood;
in Valencian;
with crust;
mix (different components).
Classic paella, which came from Valencia, is a must except white rice should include many more ingredients: meat (chicken or rabbit), seafood or fish, saffron, herbs and vegetables, beans, spices and olive oil. It would not be surprising if in some regions of Spain they offer a dish not based on rice, but on beans. Such options are also acceptable.

Analogues of paella

Rice is loved in many countries, so paella has many analogues, which are prepared according to similar recipes, but have different names.
Country, region Dish How to prepare
Eastern countries Pilaf Meat and vegetables are added to rice and cooked in a cauldron.
Italy Risotto Prepared in any frying pan, the rice is often stirred, so in the end it resembles liquid rice porridge.
Southeast America Jambalaya Prepared in a saucepan with a large number liquid, which gradually evaporates as the rice cooks. Instead of meat, sausages can be added.

Principles of cooking

The Spaniards say that they can make paella at home from any ingredients as long as there is rice left in the kitchen. However, we should adhere to some rules so as not to spoil the national dish of Valencia, but to get it as tasty as possible:
1. Rice must be the best. The Spaniards prefer two varieties: Bomba or Calasparra.
2. Real saffron is soaked in boiling water before use.
3. Olive oil cannot be replaced with anything.
4. It is better to cook over a fire, but if this is not possible, then on the stove, but always in a large frying pan, at least 5 - 6 cm deep and at least 50 cm in diameter.

Where was the dish paella born?

Paella is considered to be purely Spanish national dish. Although few people know that paella should be thanked for its appearance. It was there that they started cooking the rice, coloring it with saffron and adding olive oil to it all. Experiments with the main components of this dish began at the same time. Chicken meat, seafood and various vegetables were added.

Paella. History of appearance.

Interestingly, this dish initially became widespread only among the lower stratum of the country's population. The dish quickly gained popularity among sailors. And today, almost any restaurant in the world is ready to present paella, including metropolitan restaurants, and with different ingredients.
The word “paella” itself comes from the Latin word “patella”. It means "frying pan".

Leftovers or no leftovers?

There is also another theory about the appearance of paella. According to her, the name of the dish comes from Arabic and means the word “leftovers,” because among Arab sailors it was not strange or inappropriate to combine leftovers into a new main dish. After all, don’t throw food away from the gentlemen’s table. And experiment a little and feed the crowds of hungry sailors. Where to start the process of preparing paella.

Today, there are three different recipes for creating this dish.

1. Paella Valenciana is prepared with chicken, rabbit, legumes and vegetables -

Paella with seafood, of course, consists only of seafood - shrimp, mussels, squid meat, lobster and other gifts of the ocean -

Paella mix consists of variety of ingredients. From vegetables to meat and seafood.

If the examples are just examples that you should rely on when choosing the components of a dish, then the algorithm and cooking secrets should not be changed.

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Basic rules for preparing delicious paella.

Firstly, in order for the paella to be finger-licking, you need to choose the right quality rice. The overwhelming number of gourmets prefer varieties of Spanish rice such as Bomba and Calasparra. Bomba varietal rice has the peculiarity of swelling only in width when cooked, and Calasparra is the smallest type of rice. There are varieties of rice that are more accessible in price category– Graz and Valencia. They can be found on sale more often. The guarantee of creating a delicious dish lies not only in the choice the right variety rice, but also in bringing it to desired consistency. It is unacceptable that the rice is overcooked or, on the contrary, overcooked.
Secondly, the dish must contain saffron. In some cases, it must first be soaked and infused in boiling water. The saffron must be real, and not its cheap analogues. Thirdly, olive oil should be an essential ingredient.

It is recommended to cook paella over an open fire.

Then it acquires a smoky aroma, which will give the dish unforgettable taste. At home, of course, there is practically no way to follow this advice, so on a regular stove, following the cooking technology, paella will also turn out delicious.

What you should pay attention to is the dishes in which the paella will be prepared. You will need a special frying pan with a depth of five to six centimeters, a diameter of approximately fifty centimeters, or the largest one available at home with a thick bottom.

Well, the choice of the components of the dish depends on personal preferences. You can cook paella with several types of fish and other seafood, you can... chicken meat and vegetables, adding herbs, spices and white wine. You can cook vegetable paella and not be shy and not limit your choice to only two types of vegetables.

Having understood the principle of cooking and using your imagination, you can cook delicious dish Spain at home.

Thursday, traditional day Spanish paella. When a Spaniard eats this dish, he feels unity with the whole country, with all the Spaniards from all corners of his homeland. Paella is a dish that is beyond politics, religion, government policy and party affiliation, but it all started this way.

The legend of the creation of paella

There was a small fishing town on the shore, and it just so happened that a noble and important gentleman came to this town. The hospitable residents were alarmed; the guest had to be treated to something, but with what? The inhabitants of the town lived modestly and not richly. Each individual did not have the opportunity to feed the guest, then they decided to treat the important gentleman with the whole world, so to speak, by pooling together. The town residents agreed that everyone would bring what they had at home. Someone brought fish and various seafood, housewives sacrificed some chicken and some rabbit. The butcher shared the meat. All kinds of spices and olives were found in every family. The residents of the town prepared everything that was brought separately and only then added it to the rice, which formed the basis of the meal. It should not be surprising that the distinguished guest remained, very pleased with the imagination of the town residents and the prepared dish. This is one of the legends, but there is another.

Ten kilometers south of Valencia there is a place that is considered the birthplace of Paella. Albufera is a coastal lake, which is separated from the sea by a narrow strip of washed-up sand. Once upon a time, back in the eighth century, the Arabs came to the Iberian Peninsula, they really liked the place, moreover, on the peninsula there were excellent conditions for growing rice, which was very popular among the Arabs. The local population also appreciated the rice, and they began to add everything that was at hand - seafood, all kinds of game, rabbit and chicken. Cooks know that rice perfectly absorbs the aromas of ingredients and perfectly combines their tastes. This is the second legend.

History of the name "Paella"

Regarding the name, there are also versions. They say that the name “Paella” comes from “Patella”, which is Latin for “frying pan”. It is quite possible because cooking really requires special utensils, but we will talk about this below. They also claim that the origin of the name should be sought in the Arabic word “baqiyah” - “remains”. That is, famous dish invented by ordinary servants who ate the leftovers after the sumptuous feasts of their Muslim masters. Any leftovers were piled up and cooked with rice. Whether this is true or not is not known for certain, but it doesn’t matter.

But still, there is one version that is much more romantic and attractive than all the previous ones. This version is related to "para ella". Once upon a time there was a fisherman who loved a beautiful Spanish woman. One day, having made an appointment with her, he decided to prepare a romantic date for her. fragrant dinner, of course, with wine (Spain is not Spain without wine). Para ella translates to “For her.” It’s beautiful, but perhaps we should insist on this version.

Paella recipes

There is simply no real paella recipe. Do you know why? So, if you ask a hundred Spaniards to tell you the recipe for this dish, you will receive exactly a hundred recipes. And if you contact one hundred Valencians, you will receive three hundred recipes. Each Valencian will tell his personal recipe, then the recipe of his beloved wife and another of his beloved grandmother. If you are interested in Spanish news, you will periodically come across an article that another chef has patented the very, only and correct paella. The next day there will be such a fuss in the press that it will make your head spin. Every self-respecting chef refutes the patented paella recipe in every possible way. Critics are tearing each other apart, and housewives are sedately watching this whole “war”.

Basic rules for paella recipes

There are a lot of Paella recipes, but there are rules that every cook and every housewife follows, we will list them.

First rule, in order to prepare the dish, you need a special frying pan, which bears the same name “paella”. It can be cast iron, aluminum or steel. This frying pan is not only used for cooking, it is also used for serving the dish to the table. The walls of the pan should be thick, the pan should be wide and shallow. The depth of the frying pan is calculated in such a way that the layer of rice is 1.5-2 cm. Readers have already understood that the liquid evaporates from such a frying pan evenly, which is optimal for preparing paella. For cooking will do a standard frying pan, the diameter of which ranges from 20 to 90 cm. Each diameter is designed for a certain number of eaters. Spanish women have several such frying pans, so you can’t say anything about it.

Second rule, open fire. Yes, yes, paella is best cooked on open fire. Well, at the dacha you can afford this, but at home you need a burner with a large burner, wide. And finally, the third rule is rice. Only certain varieties of rice are used for the dish: Bomba, Bahia or Senia. These varieties of rice grow in Valencia, which is why Valencians are convinced that only they prepare real and most correct paella, and everything that is prepared in other places is just that, a pathetic fake and has nothing to do with paella. Why are these rice varieties used? Because it should perfectly absorb the aromas of all components, be crumbly and in no case stick together, much less boil over - this is important.

The most difficult part of cooking is the moment when the rice has already absorbed all the flavors. This moment still needs to be captured, and in this matter everything is important, the thickness of the rice laid out, the dishes, the temperature, and, of course, the cook’s intuition.

If your intuition doesn’t let you down, then the paella will turn out great, you won’t just miss the air of Spain, the speech of the Spaniards and the air of this beautiful country. Everyone decides for themselves how and what kind of paella to cook, just don’t count on the package from the store with the inscription “Spanish paella” having anything to do with the Spanish dish. Present spanish dish You can easily cook it in your kitchen, you only need three things, desire, patience and time, but Spanish women manage somehow.

Spanish paella on Thursdays

Why is paella eaten on Thursdays? The Spaniards also have several versions on this matter. Some argue that Francisco Franco, the famous dictator, loved two things: paella and gatherings in a cozy restaurant, incognito, of course. So they prepared this dish on Thursdays in all restaurants, incognito. Another version says that fishermen went to sea on Mondays, which means that restaurants purchased seafood on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means that a dish of fresh seafood was served on Thursday. The latest version is exactly the opposite. Purchases in restaurants took place on Fridays, which means that on Thursday it was necessary to dispose of all the leftovers. Why not?

Paella with chicken, rabbit and duck

Now, let's move on to the three most common recipes, so beloved by the Spaniards. The first recipe is “Paella with rabbit, chicken and duck.” We will cook for 8-10 eaters (a good dish for a family celebration with invited guests).

We list what we need:

• legs and back of one rabbit;
• two duck wings and two duck legs;
• two chicken wings and two chicken legs;
• olive oil (40 ml);
• one tomato, large;
• of course, rice – 600 gr.;
• green beans, flat, green – 350 gr.;
• white beans, canned, large – 200 gr.;
• water – 2.7 l;
• saffron, several threads;
• salt and a sprig of rosemary.

Well, let's start cooking, we hope it will work out. It’s okay, the eyes are afraid, but the hands do it.

The tomato must be grated coarse grater, discard the skin, you won't need it. Next, cut all the cooked meat into equal pieces. We break our green beans into small pieces.

Next, all the chopped meat needs to be fried in a frying pan at high fire until it appears golden brown crust. Add it there, to the meat. green beans and continue to fry for an additional five minutes, remembering to stir constantly.

The third step in preparing Spanish paella, pour the resulting tomato puree into the frying pan, stirring and removing any stuck meat from the bottom of the frying pan. Next, add water and cook the beans and meat until half cooked. Next you need to add saffron, which was previously brewed in a small amount of boiling water. Throw rosemary (a sprig) into the pan and add salt. We continue to cook the broth for some more time, while the rosemary needs to be periodically transferred from place to place. This is necessary so that the broth absorbs the aroma of rosemary.

Next, you need to throw away the rosemary and put it in the frying pan canned beans and scatter the cooked rice in an even layer over the entire surface of the pan. The most important and most important rule, THE RICE IS NOT PRE-SOAKED OR WASHED - this applies to any paella recipe.

Spanish paella with chicken - ready dish

There is only one thing left to do, wait for our dish to be cooked. There is no need to stir the rice. The excess water should evaporate on its own, and the rest should be absorbed into the rice. The main thing is that the rice does not boil over and does not turn out tough. All that remains is to decorate the dish with lemon, herbs and serve.

Video recipe for chicken paella

The video explains what is needed to prepare Paella for 8 people, and the entire cooking process.

Recipe – Paella with lobster

The second recipe is “Paella with lobster”. We will cook for four. First, let's prepare what we will need for this recipe:

• of course, rice (160 gr.);
• you will also need lobster - 1;
• prepare shrimp (100 gr.);
• also cuttlefish (what to do - 80 gr.);
• you will need garlic (1 clove);
• broth (700 ml.);
• olive oil (15 ml.);
• parsley, just a little (20 gr.);
• sweet paprika, required (1.5 tbsp);
• and lastly, saffron (several threads) and salt.

The broth is very important for paella., therefore, if you have the desire and enthusiasm, we will prepare the broth. If you don’t want to bother with all the good stuff described below, take regular vegetable or chicken broth.

Preparing the broth

So, broth. We need a thick saucepan, in it olive oil you need to fry 15 grams. parsley and 15 gr. chopped garlic. Then add 30 gr. nuts (can be replaced with hazelnuts or almonds), shrimp heads 400 gr., and fish bones and heads - 0.5 kg.

It doesn’t sound or look very appetizing, but don’t forget, this is only broth, we won’t eat all these heads. Everything we added needs to be fried and then poured with 2.5 - 3 liters of water. All this needs to be cooked for half an hour over medium heat. Then grind everything with a blender and strain.

Then the fun begins, we will cook the lobster. We stick a knife into the head of the lobster at a right angle and cut the lobster lengthwise. One half of a lobster is enough for four eaters, but if there is room in the frying pan, we will cook the whole thing. Take 0.5 l. hot water and brew saffron. We take olive oil, heat and brown the crushed garlic, and then throw it away without pity. Now you need to increase the heat and fry cuttlefish, shrimp and lobster in garlic olive oil for thirty seconds.

Cooking rice

Now you need to add paprika and continue cooking the rice, stirring it over medium heat. When the rice spreads evenly across the bottom of the pan, return it to the pan. sea ​​seafood(those same bastards). That's it, reduce the heat, add salt and add the remaining parsley.

Recipe for vegetarian paella with mushrooms

The third recipe is “Vegetarian Paella”. For 4 persons. As always, we prepare the ingredients we need:

• as always, rice is the main thing, 160 gr.;
• you will need a little cauliflower cabbage, 100 grams in total;
• Let's prepare red pepper, bell pepper of course, also a little, 100 gr.;
• mushrooms - champignons, others may be suitable, but champignons are better(50 gr.);
• ordinary green onions(30 gr.);
• 1 tomato;
• garlic is a must, we have it everywhere (1 zbch.);
• broth, of course vegetable (700 gr.);
• olive oil, as always, you can’t go anywhere without it (15 ml);
• and again, saffron (several threads) and salt.

First, we need to brew the prepared saffron in 100 ml of hot broth or water. The green onion will have to be chopped, but the cabbage, champignons, tomatoes and peppers will need to be chopped in large pieces. Crush a clove of garlic and fry it in olive oil and throw it to hell. Put the cabbage in the frying pan, then after 5 or 7 minutes the pepper, then after 3-4 minutes add the onion, as well as mushrooms and tomatoes.

All this assorted vegetables pour in “saffron water” or broth, bring the whole mixture to a boil and continue to cook, briefly, 10 minutes. And then we add salt. Now the last and most important thing, add the rice and boil a little, then reduce the heat and leave it in this form, without stirring. Paella is ready when the rice has absorbed all the broth.

Did you know that:

The Spaniards once cooked paella in a frying pan, the area of ​​which was 400 sq.m. Stir the paella using a tap. It took six tons of rice and 12.5 tons of meat to prepare. The dish was enough to feed 100 thousand people.

Video: Spanish Paella

Spanish dish recipe from the chef.

Paella, a rice-based dish, is the real pride and symbol of Spanish cuisine. Everyone knows that the birthplace of paella is Spain, but if you look deeper, the birthplace of paella is the Spanish province of Valencia, namely a place 12 kilometers south of the provincial capital near Lake Albufera, where rice was grown in marshy fields for many centuries. It is believed that spanish paella was first prepared here, in the village of El Palmar on the lake shore.

The history of the origin of the Spanish rice dish and the traditions of its consumption go back to the first millennium AD. However, Spanish paella, which is more similar to modern paella, appeared only in the 15th century. In the Middle Ages, it was prepared in broth cooked with offal or chicken breast, and was referred to in ancient cookbooks as “Valencian rice.” The variety of paella recipes originated in the Middle Ages.

Paella must be cooked over fire

For centuries, the preparation of paella has been a celebratory event. Despite the fact that today in the homeland of paella this dish is not considered a delicacy, since ancient times a tradition has formed culinary holidays, dedicated to this Spanish dish of their rice. In Spanish posters they can be recognized as "Paelles al Carrer". These are traditional culinary fairs held on the streets of different cities, where all passers-by are treated to free generous portions of paella. In some cities in Spain, competitions are held for the best preparation of paella. For example, in Peniscola in the province of Castellon, a culinary duel is included in the program of the holiday in honor of Saint Roque, and in the Valencian city of Sueca, the International Valencian Paella Competition is held annually.

It is important that Spanish customs include cooking paella over a fire: during culinary fights and holidays, the dish is prepared in wide vats standing on a tagan - a stand with three legs. Fire adds a unique smoky aroma to paella and reveals all the richness of the flavors of the spices added to it.

You can prepare paella with a characteristic aroma using special devices, which are often used in establishments catering. Such devices are called “paellero”, and they use household gas to operate.

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Paella is a national Spanish (Valencian) dish of rice, tinted with saffron, with the addition of olive oil.

In addition, seafood, vegetables, chicken, sausage, etc. can be added to paella.

The name comes from the Latin word patella - “frying pan”. The popularity of this dish today is due to the many variations in ingredients adapted to different regions of Spanish cuisine.

There are many recipes for making paella. The Spaniards themselves claim that there are over 300 of them.

Classic paella, in addition to rice, includes 6-7 types of fish and seafood, chicken, white wine, herbs and spices.

In some regions of Spain, bean paella is prepared.

Many non-Spanish people consider paella to be the national Spanish dish, but most Spaniards themselves consider it to be a dish unique to Valencia.

Today it is rare to find a Spanish restaurant that does not have this dish on its menu.

In the 20th century its popularity has grown so much that today paella can be found in almost all restaurants in Europe.

The result of this interest in paella was the emergence all sorts of options The preparation of this dish, from the original Valencian recipe to such varieties as paella with seafood (paella de marisco) and mixed paella (paella mixta), there are also many other types.

History of the name

Paella is a Catalan word that comes from the old French word "paelle", which in turn comes from the Latin "patella".

"Patella" is also a cognate of modern French "poêle" - oven, frying pan, Italian "padella" - frying pan, old Spanish "padilla" - small oven, Polish "patelnia" - frying pan.

Valencians use the word paella for all types of pans, including specialized utensils for preparing paella.

However, in most of Spain and throughout Latin America, the term "paellera" is more often used for this purpose.

Although, as stated by the Royal Spanish Academy, the organization responsible for regulating the Spanish language, both terms can be used.

Paelleras traditionally have round shape, small, made of polished steel with two handles.

There is a popular hypothesis that the word paella comes from the Arabic word بقية, transliterated. “bakyya” or in another pronunciation “baiya” - lit. "leftovers" because it was common among Arab sailors to combine the leftovers of a previous meal, which, according to the hypothesis, led to the creation of paella.

Types of paella

Paella Valenciana consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck), snails, beans and seasoning.

Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and lacks beans and vegetables. Most cooks who make paella use a rice called calasparra or bomba to prepare this dish.

Other key ingredients in paella are saffron and olive oil.

Paella "black rice" is prepared with the addition of cuttlefish, the intense black color is obtained by adding the "ink" secreted by the cuttlefish.

“Rice with crust” is prepared from rice, saffron, chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic, chicken, white and blood sausage, sausages and eggs.

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Useful information

Paella
cat. Paella
pronounced "paeya"

Etiquette

• Nowhere is good paella prepared for dinner and sangria should not be on the menu.
• Depending on the composition, paella can be washed down with red, white or pink dry wine.
• Traditionally, paella is cooked and served directly in the pan, unless it is set lunch, when the dish has already been plated.
• Some particularly traditional establishments offer wooden spoons, as traditional utensils are believed to give paella a metallic taste. Even in the most elegant restaurants there is no shame in eating paella from a frying pan.
• If the paella is with seafood, then the shrimp, shells and other living creatures in it will be uncleaned. They are usually pushed to the edge of the plate so that they can be cleaned later - with their hands! - and eat it.
• You need to carefully scrape the socarrat (from Valencian “burnt”), the burnt crust of rice, from the bottom with a serving spoon. It is absolutely unacceptable to leave it in the pan - this is the most delicious thing in paella, and experts judge the quality of the dish by it.