paella

Going to the source at the Albufera

Going to the source at the Albufera

Posted on by Pat and David
We thought maybe we'd had our fill of rice dishes for a while once Tastarròs concluded. True, but we had not had our fill of Valencia's natural attractions. The rice-growing village of El Palmar, just six miles south of the city on the #24 bus (emtvalencia.es), sits on the shore of the Albufera. That's the Arabic name for a big, shallow lake that was once a saltwater lagoon. Judging by the prevalence of Phragmites reeds on the shores and in small reed islands, the lake still gets some saltwater inundation. Several kinds of ducks, bitterns, egrets, and herons use the reeds for shelter. Some local residents thatch their roofs with reeds. The lake teems with eels, bream, and mullet. Hm-m-m-m … rice and fish. Sounds...Read More
Learning about all the Valencian rice dishes

Learning about all the Valencian rice dishes

Posted on by Pat and David
Just walking around the Tastarròs festival provides an education in the astonishing variety of Valencian rice dishes. By far, the bulk of them are cooked in the wide, flat pans that we tend to associate with paella. In fact, the pan is called una paellera. The photo sequence above shows the first steps in making a paella. The paellas range in color from a ruddy yellow to deep red. Here is celebrity chef Santi Garrido of La Pepa Bluespace (lapepabluespace.com/) serving his arroz rojo de carabineros, which had eager diners lined up in a queue that stretched halfway around the plaza. Part of the appeal was his fame (he's a Valencian culinary rock star) and partly that he was using the huge red prawns (carabineros)...Read More
Tastarròs, when the city plaza is a giant cookout

Tastarròs, when the city plaza is a giant cookout

Posted on by Pat and David
We're not quite sure what people like most about Tastarròs. Without a doubt, they love the opportunity to sample a whole range of rice dishes from some of the city's and region's best chefs. They also welcome the opportunity to rub elbows. Maybe all the more so after two years of quarantines and mask regulations. As a people, Spaniards are about as social as any nationality on earth. They are in their element in a crowd of other Spaniards eating and drinking. (No wonder we feel at home here!) The organization of the ticketing system is quite good. Instead of fumbling to pay at each table, participants line up and purchase color-coded tickets. Rice dishes were €4, wine and beer €1 and €1.5, respectively. Appropriately...Read More

Having a blast at Las Fallas in Valencia

Posted on by Pat and David
Valencia is beginning to rev up for Las Fallas, the festival of fires, fireworks, and managed explosions that culminates on the evening of March 19. The pageantry, sheer noise, and almost giddy sense of celebration is almost unfathomable, and we were not sure how we could possibly write about it. But we gave it a try for the Boston Globe. See it on the Globe's web site or check it out on our page of sample articles. This being Spain, there is of course plenty of time set aside for eating. Paella, the quintessentially Valencian dish, fits the celebratory mood as people gather around a big festive pan. Last year we posted our version of paella valenciana . But we know that a lot of...Read More

Making paella Valenciana at home

Posted on by Pat and David
Paella must be popular worldwide, judging by the recipe we received from the proprietor of Ceramicas Terriols (see below) when we purchased our paella pan. The directions were in a babble of languages, including Chinese and Russian. We can't comment on the clarity of the Chinese and Russian, but the English was, shall we say, tortured. (Sample directions: "When the meat is gilding, the tomato and paprika are thrown well moved till the whole is lightly fried.") Still, we got the gist of it and we wanted to try it when we got home. Since we have to traipse halfway across the city to buy rabbit, we decided to see if chicken thighs would make a good substitute. We can get good periwinkles in our...Read More

Shopping in Valencia for paella tools and ingredients

Posted on by Pat and David
[caption id="attachment_608" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mercado Central, Valencia"][/caption] After tasting paella at La Pepica (see previous post) , we were able to identify the essential ingredients and seasonings we needed to bring home to recreate the dish. The best place to shop for in Valencia for paella fixings is the soaring Modernista train-shed of the Mercado Central (Tel: 963-829-101. www.mercadocentralvalencia.es, open 7:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Monday–Saturday). It’s one of the largest fresh markets in Spain, perhaps because the area around Valencia is intensively agricultural. The subtropical climate not only permits year-round cultivation of greens and legumes, the swampy lagoons are also home to some of Spain’s most prized rice plantations. You cannot take home the fresh veggies, but you can bring the heirloom rice, the spices, and...Read More

La Pepica: the mother church of paella in Valencia

Posted on by Pat and David
[caption id="attachment_593" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="La Pepica kitchen"][/caption] When Valencianos say that they are "going to the beach," they usually mean Playa de Malvarossa, an urban strand blessed by fine sand, gentle waves, surprisingly clean waters—and the mother of all paella restaurants, La Pepica. While three-quarters of the menu of this venerable eatery (founded 1898) consists of fish and shellfish, the other quarter is a golden litany of nearly two dozen classic Valencian rice dishes. [caption id="attachment_594" align="alignright" width="300" caption="A maestro of La Pepica"][/caption] The main entrance is on the beach, but we prefer entering from the street just to walk past the dynamic kitchen where dozens of cooks in gleaming kitchen whites prepare pristine ingredients and juggle huge paella pans. The dining room is daunting....Read More