Famous Valencian Dish - The Poor Man's Meal

By J. A. Lloyd

This world famous Valencian dish is served in almost every Spanish restaurant on the Costa Blanca. Originally a poor mans meal it was made with rabbit and/or local seafood. Rice is the basis of this aromatic dish as the communidad of Valencia has been the rice growing centre of Spain for centuries.

Commonly, but mistakenly, known as Paella, which means a type of cooking pan, it is the established favourite Sunday meal amongst Valencians. Both foreign tourist and local residents enjoy the paella served up by their local eatery. It seems that each restaurant produces their own particular recipe to appeal to their regulars

The dish is cooked in a paella, which is a large round flat pan similar to a frying pan but with two handles. Hence the mistaken name of the dish. The pan is placed on a paellero which is normally a barbeque or a gas ring, although traditionally it is cooked on an open wood burning fire.

The typical pan for cooking paella is very shallow, it is carried to the table and the paella served straight onto each plate. This creates a very informal eating atmosphere, conjusive to the outdoor Spanish way of life.

The scrapings are the tastiest bits. They are called the socarrat and can only be possible if the paella is cooked over an open fire or the heat turned up high at the end of the cooking time.

In towns and villages you will come across paella competitions that are held every year in the village square when open wood fires and enthusiastic helpers tries to persuade the tasting judges that they should be awarded the competition winners.

Each family group attempts to keep secret their exact ingredients, even down to the herbs that they throw into the open fire that may give their paella that extra prize winning taste.

It is an event in itself to watch the expressions on the judges' faces as they sit at a long table sampling each competitor's contribution before conferring to decide on the winner.

A feature of many fiestas is the cooking of a paella in huge dishes over an open fire in the town square.

Usually there are a number of men contributing their own special additions to the meal or simply adding wood to the fire with typical Spanish panache.

Just for once the local ladies stay in the background as their men go about their time honoured business.

For the majority, however, every day paella is cooked either on a barbeque or on a kitchen range and is just as enjoyable, if not quite the same amount of fun.

Find a restaurant to suit your taste on the Costa Blanca, Spain.