Pan-Perfect Paella

When making Valencia's iconic rice dish at home, the secret is in the crust

A hearty pan of paella, always served family-style, is a Spanish tradition. Shutterstock

A visit to Valencia, a port city on the eastern coast of Spain, would not be complete without enjoying a pan of paella. The hearty rice dish, filled with ingredients ranging from assorted seafood to chicken, meat, and vegetables, was born in the region of Valencia, which shares the name of its capital city.

For locals, gathering on weekends and holidays to share a paella is an afternoon tradition that can stretch into the early evening hours. The dish is always served family-style and usually enjoyed with a dark cherry red wine made from the local Bobal grape. Dessert might be a flan de naranja, a traditional Spanish custard that incorporates Valencia oranges into the caramel sauce; or bunyols, sugary donut holes, another local specialty.

Humble Origins

Though recognized as a traditional Spanish dish, paella also has roots in North Africa. Servants working for aristocrats would take home leftover scraps from banquets and cook them with rice in a large pan over an open flame to feed their families. The name “paella” may have been derived from the Arabic word “baqiyah,” meaning “leftovers;” a more phonetic association may come from “patera,” the Arabic word for pan. The shallow, round, two-handled pan used to cook the dish is called “la paella.”