Paella is a Spanish culinary eclecticism

Spanish cuisine can boast of many traditional dishes, famous worldwide, but the most famous among them has always been, is and probably will be paella is a dish made of rice with various additives. We will talk about how to cook a delicious Spanish paella at home is really real and achievable for everyone who has the desire and a little time.

Dish under romantic melodic name paella is a rice cooked with saffron, olive oil, vegetables, seafood, meat products or poultry. As for the name - as it appears there are several versions. According to the most common version of it comes from the Latin word "patella", translated as pan, that is the name of the dish was born from the name of the pan in which it is prepared. The second, more interesting and romantic version associates the name of the dish with the phrase "para ella", translated as "her" was the title of the dish which was prepared in anticipation of his beloved, a fisherman. Well, the third version that Spaniards do not like, binds the name of the dish and the Arabic word translated as "remnants" - for her it was invented by the servants of the Moorish kings who ate the remains after the feasts of the Arabs, putting it all together and cooking with rice.

I must say, the third version of the title best reflects the peculiarity of this dish: it often combine incongruous fish, meat and seafood. So, often paella is prepared from rice, vegetables, seafood and chicken, or instead of chicken in the dish can add the sausage. There are variants of this dish, which today invented mass, when rice combine only seafood, vegetables or meat, but these recipes are modern interpretations that have little in common with traditional Spanish paella, which no characteristic "eclectic" would be similar as two drops of water on risotto or even rice.

How to make paella at home

The home of paella in Valencia, this dish is prepared in many recipes, but between all variants have in common:

• In paella add the saffron, which gives the rice a characteristic yellowish tint;
• Seafood in an authentic paella combine with meat, poultry or famous Spanish dry-cured ham jamon;
• In the dish always add at least 2-3 different vegetables.

Well, not going to walk around the Bush and go straight to the recipe of paella, which this dish is often made in Valencia.

The recipe for paella in Valencia

You will need: 400 g chicken 300 g lamb ribs and green beans, 8 cups of chicken broth (or chicken+fish), 4 cups of rice round, 3 pinch of saffron and cloves of garlic, 2 sweet peppers, 2 tomatoes, seafood to taste, olive oil.

How to cook paella "Valenciana". Cook paella in a deep heavy frying pan with a thick bottom and walls. Reheat in a pan with olive oil, put chopped garlic, fry until taromenane, put the beans (cut it up into pieces 2-3 cm) and diced peeled tomatoes, fry for 5-7 minutes, put the rice, stir fry for 3-5 minutes, add the saffron, add the hot broth, to evenly distribute the ingredients in the pan. The chicken chop, rib chop pieces of 2-3 cm, fry them separately from the rice, then put on evenly. Peppers cut into strips, put in the meat with rice with seafood, simmer for 15-20 minutes without a lid, then turn off the flame and cover the pan with a lid, leave it for another 15 minutes

The most difficult ingredient of paella - saffron, if there is no possibility to buy it, replace it, you can curry.

If you eat at the same time meat, poultry and seafood don't want to cook paella better in one of the modern European recipes.

Recipe paella with chicken, vegetables and cheese

You will need: 100 g long grain rice and olives, 2 tomatoes and chicken fillet 1 onion, Cup of chicken broth, 2 tbsp. grated cheese and olive oil, saffron, curry powder to taste, ground black pepper, salt.

How to cook paella with chicken. Cut the fillets into pieces, sprinkle with curry, salt and pepper, put in a pan with butter until Golden brown fry. Mugs chopped olives, remove the skin from the tomatoes, remove the seeds, dice chop the flesh. To the meat add the rice and the vegetables, pour in the broth, put the saffron, pepper and salt. Put the paella in the oven and cook at a temperature of 160-180 degrees for 30-40 minutes Before serving, sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley and grated cheese.

You can cook and do a vegetarian version of paella.

Recipe vegetarian paella

You will need: 200 grams of rice, 4 sweet peppers, 2 cloves garlic, tomatoes, zucchini and onions, 1 lemon (zest), 4 tbsp olive oil, ground black pepper, salt.

How to cook paella vegetable. 2 cups of salted water to boil the rice, julienne cut the bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and onions - diced zucchini - strips. In a pan with oil, fry the pepper and zucchini, put the onions and garlic, fry, add the rice and tomatoes, simmer 5 min, pepper, salt, add lemon zest and garnish with parsley before serving.

The last two of the above recipe is a modern version of paella, which can often be seen in European restaurants, however, the main highlight of the meal in them lost. It is a harmonious combination of meat, rice, vegetables, seafood and poultry or sausage makes paella a truly unique dish. So, if you want to make it home to surprise, do not depart from the traditional recipe. In addition to Valencia there are many variations of this traditional paella, for example, with chicken, prawns and mussels.

Recipe paella with mussels, chicken and shrimp

You will need: 500 g mussels, 300 g short grains of rice and fish fillets, 8 shrimp, untreated, 6 chicken drumsticks, 3 cups of vegetable broth, 2 onions and sweet red pepper, 1 Bay leaf, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp. chopped parsley, 1 tsp. of ground pepper, saffron, black pepper.

How to cook paella with chicken and seafood. Mussels washed, coarsely chopped garlic and onions, diced chopped sweet red pepper. Legs fry in 2 tbsp oil for 10 minutes, remove from the pan, put in the mussels and cook them until they are revealed, put and fry the shrimp, onions and peppers with garlic, add the remaining oil, add the fish, 1 min to extinguish. In the remainder of frying fat products put the rice, pour hot broth, add the saffron and Laurel, pepper, sweet pepper, 20 minutes to extinguish. All the ingredients are mixed with the rice, cover with foil and place in a preheated 150 degree oven for 15 minutes Before serving, this paella topped with chopped parsley.