Oh Valencia!

If you were really craving a classic cheese steak, where would you go? How about deep dish pizza, or maybe authentic sourdough bread? Any American could easily rattle off Philly, Chicago, and San Francisco. Ask a Spaniard where to go for paella and instantly they’ll tell you to do yourself a favor and make the trip to Valencia.

Valencia y Espana

On the southeastern coast of Spain you’ll find sprawling beaches, gorgeous architectural feats, and a restaurant on every corner that offers the famous Spanish rice dish paella. Needless to say, my roommates and I took the advice of our señora and made the trip this weekend.

Top to bottom: The City Hall,  L'Hemisferic IMAX, and The Cathedral of Valencia

I got a tan, ate some terrific seafood, and saw some really spectacular things in the city. My only complaint was the paella. Maybe we hit a touristy place that just didn’t do the dish justice, but I think it’s because we had the bar set incredibly high by our host dad, Juan. A native Valencian, Juan was taught by his close chef friend how to properly cook the dish decades ago and is now a master himself.

Knowing a lesson in paella from a Valencian doesn’t happen everyday, I asked Juan if I could watch him in the kitchen. Being the sweetheart he is, he let me perch on a chair as he carefully prepared the paella.

So I settled into my Culinary Institute of America student ready pose (small notebook for notes in hand, iPhone ready for photos, and rehearsed Spanish questions ready for the asking) while Juan quite literally pulled out the heavy machinery to get the cooking underway. His paella (the term is also used for cooking pan) looks about as big as a large pizza, so maybe 20” in circumference. It wouldn’t fit on the stovetop so he actually had a separate paella burner to ensure even cooking. As he began heating the pan, Juan explained that his friend prefers to cook his paella over a wood fire, but that his would still be delicious because he’s “super, super good.”

The giant paella set up

Pouring a healthy amount of olive oil onto the paella, Juan then sprinkled salt around the edge to ensure the rice wouldn’t burn. He then seared off chicken legs and thighs to a perfect golden brown. Moving those to the outer rim, he quickly sautéed garlic, onion, sugar snap peas, and tomato. At this point he seasoned the pan with a generous amount of rosemary and pimentón, (a Spanish paprika that comes sweet, bittersweet, and hot) before adding a kilo of Bomba, the short-grained rice famous for authentic paella. The rice’s particularly high starch content is perfect for paella because it absorbs liquid without becoming oversaturated and mushy, just like arborrio rice for an Italian risotto.

Sautéing 

Once everything was seasoned and sautéed, Juan poured a saffron broth he had simmered all day with roasted chicken bones into the paella. The golden hues from the saffron and pimentón looked beautiful and smelled amazing as everything softly bubbled in the pan. Juan then covered the paella and we had to wait about 40 minutes until the rice was cooked and the prized crust along the bottom of the pan was formed.

Juan, breaking health code violations left and right, but making an unbelievable paella!

Patience was definitely a virtue, but it was completely worth the wait to feast on the paella that night. Watching Juan work in the kitchen was a culinary experience I’ll never forget, along with the taste of his perfect paella.  

So sorry Valencia, you were a beautiful vacation spot, but you’re paella had nothing on Juan’s!