Paella is often called the Spanish pilaf, however, there are not only similarities between them, but also significant differences. In both dishes, the main ingredient is rice, and it is prepared by the same method - for quite some time languishing, soaking in spices and juice of other used products.
At the moment, there are many different recipes for cooking this dish, but the closest to the original will be the recipe for rice in Valencian, because it is from the province of Valencia that the paella begins. Nevertheless, none of the local residents will be able to accurately answer the question of how it actually appeared this dish.
How paella appeared
There are many legends about its history of origin, but the most popular are the following three options. In the first, more romantic, it is told about the poor fisherman, whom his beloved was supposed to visit. In anticipation, the man decided to cook her something to eat and eventually just gathered together all the foods that were in his house. Among them - rice, which for centuries was grown in the province on wetlands and seafood, of which the fisherman was in abundance.
The second option tells how the locals were preparing to meet some very important guest and did not know what to cook. After consulting, they found a way out: everyone had to bring some food from home, from whom they found something. When all this variegated variety was gathered into a pile, someone had the idea to add rice there. The dish really liked the guest, like everyone else, and firmly established in the diet of local residents.
The third story claims that during the Arab conquests the hungry Spanish servants collected everything that their gentlemen left after their meals and took it home with them. They mixed with rice and ate, so as to somehow feed themselves and their families.
Be that as it may, and now paella is one of the most popular national dishes of Spain.
How to prepare a paella
If you previously believed that paella can be cooked exclusively at the stake on holidays or at home, the current youth often prefers to order it in cafes and restaurants, each of which is ready to offer their own recipe. And the tradition that only a man can cook this dish is no longer respected as strictly as it once was. But in fact not so long ago the presentation of a special pan for cooking paella - paella, was a symbol of the youth becoming a man.
Paellers are used and now - these are frying pans with not high sides of 5-6 centimeters and a wide bottom. It is believed that the thinner the layer of rice( ideally about two centimeters), the more it will be soaked in spices and cook better. Another key to preparing any kind of paella is the use of saffron, and in no case turmeric, since the latter not only gives the wrong color, but also completely changes the flavor of the whole dish.