Paella << py AY yah or pah EHL uh >> is a celebrated Spanish dish of golden-colored rice and other ingredients cooked in a large, shallow, round pan. The pan is called a paella, and the dish takes its name from the pan. Traditionally, paella was a specialty of the province of Valencia . It is now seen as one of the national dishes of Spain. In Valencia, paella is a festival dish of rice with seasonal vegetables, chicken, rabbit, or duck, cooked outdoors in orchards.
Rice, the key ingredient of paella, was introduced to Spain by the Arabs , after Moorish and Arabian forces conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in the A.D. 700’s. The Arabs may also have introduced saffron , an expensive seasoning that flavors the dish and provides its golden color.
Paella was traditionally cooked outdoors in Valencian orchards, where the trees provided shade. In the 1800’s, country outings became popular in Spain, and paella became a feature of such excursions. Men did the cooking, and the diners sat in a circle around the hot pan. They ate directly from the pan with boxwood spoons, each person first drawing a wedge from the center to the rim to mark out his or her portion.
In addition to rice, ingredients that today are considered authentic include tomatoes, fresh beans, snails or fresh rosemary, seasonal vegetables, and chicken, rabbit, or lean pork, or an assortment of fish and seafood. These ingredients are moistened with olive oil and seasoned with paprika, saffron, and salt.
