Paella is a Catalan word that derives from the Old French word paelle for pan, which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan. Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near Lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Most non-Spaniards view paella as Spain’s national dish. However, most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
Finding paella in Barcelona is no more difficult than walking down the street. That being said, not all paella is created (or should I say, cooked) equally. In fact, most paella you encounter in Barcelona is geared towards tourists (read: under or overcooked rice, no saffron — hello yellow dye number 2; if the paella is lacking the subtle aroma of saffron, then you have a fake) and forgettable. One Barcelona native I chatted with compared the paella on Barcelona’s La Rambla to a TV dinner. A few things to keep in mind when seeking quality paella: If you go to a restaurant and mention the word socarrat and the staff look at you quizzically and/or inform you that they bake their paella in the oven, turn around and walk out the door. There is better paella to be found.
You might be asking yourself, what the heck is socarrat? Socarrat refers to the crispy, savory crust that forms on the the bottom layer of rice when the paella is cooked properly. The socarrat is achieved by turning up the heat in the final minutes of cooking. You’ll know within the first few bites if the socarrat is present. Also, do not let your server dish out the paella onto individual plates. Paella should be served in its pan, lest you lose the coveted socarrat.
How To Make Paella
Cooking paella requires a wide shallow pan and a strong heat source that can be distributed uniformly on the bottom of the paella pan. Ideally, the best heat source for cooking paella is an open fire fueled by vine cuttings or citrus or olive tree trimmings. Given that most people do not have access to vine cuttings and a blazing wood fire, an open heat source such as a stove top, charcoal grill, or even a freestanding propane or butane burner (as seen below) will work.
It is not uncommon for restaurants to cook paella in the oven to speed up the cooking process. Unfortunately, developing the socarrat — considered by many to be the past part of paella — in the oven is difficult.
We actually walked out of one restaurant in Barcelona after the paella was brought to our table: A soupy paella with overcooked rice and lacking any trace of socarrat. Both the waiter and owner looked confused when we mentioned the lack of soccarat and responded, “Soccarrat, we have not heard of such a word.” At the time, I felt slightly bad about walking out, but it was our last day in Spain and not how I wanted to remember paella. Undeterred, we walked over to Xiringuito d’ Escriba, located along the Mediterranean Sea, where the paella is very good.
Paella Traditions And Customs
This is the seafood paella from Xiringuito d’ Escriba. You can see the socarrat in the paella below; the layer of rice is very thin and has a nice carmalized, golden brown hue. We chatted with the paella master for a while; unlike some other establishments, she spoke at length about socarrat, smiled, and pulled out a big bag of bomba rice, an ingredient that clearly sets a good paella apart (see below for more information on bomba rice).
The below paella is from Casa Cheriff in Barcelona. Casa Cheriff was recommended to us by some locals enjoying a walk through La Barceloneta as we we wandered around looking for a place to have dinner. This one was good, but not my favorite.
The paella that won me over came from the small town of Combarro in Galicia. Our waiter insisted that we order the Arroz Marinero (frutas del mar y pescado). Although hesitant at first, I’m glad we heeded his advice because this dish was incredible. It was loaded with seafood — mejillones (mussels), langostinos, chipirones, pulpo, almejas (clams), navajas (razor clams) and rape (monkfish) — but the rice also had a nice socarrat that seemed to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Not sure how the chef created such a sublime dish, but I wish I knew. This is a paella that I will dream about for years to come. I would tell you the name of the place, but I think it will remain my secret for the time being. Oh, what the heck, the restaurant is called El Caracol (but let’s keep that between you and me).
Shrimp Paella Recipe
While we sampled a handful of seafood paellas, I was eager to try the more traditional paella of Valencia, typically consisting of rabbit, snails, and chicken. However, in Barcelona and the coastal towns of Galicia, this was difficult to find. Many places had a meat paella on the menu, but it was usually pork and chicken. Again, another reason to return to Spain, next time with a stop in Valencia to savor paella with snails and rabbit.
The best rice for making paella is a Spanish, short-grain rice called bomba rice. What makes bomba rice superior for paella is the fact that it expands in width like an accordion, rather than longitudinally, which allows it to absorb three times its volume in broth, yet the rice remains firm.
In the end, you might have to pay a little more for better ingredients and the care that goes into making a high quality paella, but I guarantee it will be the difference between a mediocre meal and a memorable one.
Recipe: Paella Valenciana With Socarrat
In addition to a bag of bomba rice, we managed to find room in our bags for a couple of other food items: two bottles of wine (mencia from Ribeira Sacra, priorat), five bottles of extra virgin olive oil, one jar of anchovies, one jar of piquillo peppers, one jar of salsa de chipiron (squid ink sauce), two links of spicy chorizo, and a couple of bars of chocolate.Well, not always.Asking for a pound of fish will get you lots of funny looks in London because a pound is an amount of currency not a measurement.
During a summer study abroad in college I shared a house with nearly 20 people and visiting the kitchen for more than a bowl of cereal was of little priority. But eventually my friends and I realized spending lots of money every day in restaurants was cutting into our weekend travel budgets.
So we dutifully took trips down the street to Sainsbury’s or Waitrose if we didn’t feel like walking an extra block and had a few extra pounds to spend. We mostly bought rotisserie chickens, the makings for salad, and the aforementioned cereal.
The Socarrat: Discovering The Art Of Perfectly Crispy Paella
Despite never having made or even eaten paella, it somehow became the dinner I had to make. I picked up some sort of kit with the rice and spice blend and made a beeline for the fish counter. But when I asked the man for a pound of fish, he looked at me like I was nuts and came out from around the counter and proceeded to show my friend and I what a pound of fish was. Basically half a filet.
Great Britain is an English speaking country but I could not articulate to him that I wanted more. The weights and measurement system drained from my brain and I took my tiny filet to go. Luckily you can buy shrimp but simply saying, “I want X number of shrimp” so at least we had something. But things only got worse from there.
I can barely make a proper pot of rice in America in my own kitchen, so a foreign kitchen and this kit were not setting me up for success. The rice came out gummy and I folded in the minuscule fish pieces and pink shrimp to make an unappetizing dinner but it tasted ok and dinner was had. Lesson learned.
How To Make Squid Ink Seafood Paella
Actual paella is not made in a tiny stockpot. It requires a large paella pan and hopefully an outdoor grill. The flames from the grill and the pan develops a crispy layer of rice on the bottom and fluffy rice on top.
This sounds delicious. This does not sound like what we ate that summer night in London.But I have modified what we devoured and Persian rice into a modified crispy paella rice.
In addition to the giant pan and grill, the other must for paella is saffron. The pricy little spice is a major splurge but is sold in teeny tiny increments so you don’t go completely insane at the checkout. Just a few threads will add a deep ruddy color and unique flavor to your crispy paella rice. Since I don’t want to use up all of my impulse bought saffron from Amazon, I round out the dish with smoked paprika and
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