I'm interested too! I saw on TV a show that purports truth in the fact that to be totally traditional the paella must be cooked over a fire made of orange wood.
Thanks Brian. Reading through your links It seams as the reasons I expected were correct. Paella started as a "workman's lunch" dish, a cooked outside in the open with what they had. Being that the origin was in Valencia Spain ... the wood they had most readily available was ... yes ... orange tree branches(along with olive branches).
OK. So now if you want to stick with "authenticity" and such ... go ahead with the orange wood. I don't really think however, that it's got much to do with anything other than fuel for the fire. Oh yeah ... I could be for certain wrong ... but I don't think so.
I had the good fortune of living in Spain for a couple years and returned with the Diaz family recipe from Real de San Vicente a small village northwest of Madrid. Their recipe is mostly the same as others described avoe and Ingredients can vary to your personal tastes, but technique is very important. They used orange and olive wood, but not always. They also added mussels which I didn't see mentioned above. Two huge keys: Large shallow pan and DON'T STIR!!! The crust on bottom is the best part and is what makes it Paella. The way they did it, it was pretty brown on bottom.
That is correct. Paella was born in the Region of Valencia, in Spain, that's middle east. That region is well known for its extremely high quality oranges. They export oranges to all european countries. Valencia has been growing and selling oranges for more than 500 years. Orange wood is very aromatic, and gives rice a special note. If you need any info about real paella, you can ask me. I'm spanish, living in Spain, and I'll be very happy if I can help you understand our food and traditions
That is correct. Paella was born in the Region of Valencia, in Spain, that's middle east. That region is well known for its extremely high quality oranges. They export oranges to all european countries. Valencia has been growing and selling oranges for more than 500 years. Orange wood is very aromatic, and gives rice a special note. If you need any info about real paella, you can ask me. I'm spanish, living in Spain, and I'll be very happy if I can help you understand our food and traditions
Hi Sheila, do you think you could share your detailed technique and recipe for paella Valenciana with us? I've been making paella for years and I absolutely love it and so does my family however I'm convinced I'm still doing it wrong. And I would love to go back to that childhood taste I had during my trips to Spain!
That would be amazing if you took the time to share the details with us.
Hi Sheila, do you think you could share your detailed technique and recipe for paella Valenciana with us? I've been making paella for years and I absolutely love it and so does my family however I'm convinced I'm still doing it wrong.
I've seen through the net lots of paella recipes in big recipe blogs that people just copy and paste from other blogs and so on like a kids game, but nobody really knows how to cook paella or has ever cooked paella before. That's why I decided to start my own blog about what paella really is and how to cook it. The "start" is going to be my next post, but I give you in advance what it is about cause my idea is to share and bring paella to tables in a right way. The most, listen, I reapeat, THE MOST important step is the beginning and it is called "sofrito". The "Sofrito" has its own recipe and it is not cooked always the same way. It depends on the type of rice you are going to cook (seafood paella, rice soup, baked rice, meat rice.........) The TOTAL ingredients for sofrito are onion, garlic, peppers (red or green depending again), tomato (always fresh), olive oil extra virgin and the meat, vegies or fish. You don´t use always all the ingredients for sofrito, it depends again on what you're going to do, that's why there is a unique recipe for each type of paella or rice. And also, you don´t follow always the same order when adding the ingredients to the pot or pan. I know it is confusing. Of course, the second very important point is the broth. For seafood paella, depending on the main fish or shellfish, you choose a specific fish for the broth. At this point, I hope everybody understands that cooking paella is an art. The third point is the type of rice and the fourth point the type of water for the broth (yes, type of water). Because of the difficulty of giving you a specific recipe, I invite you to look around my blog (some pages aren't written yet because the blog is brand new) and pick a recipe. Then, before cooking it, we can discuss it here for tricks and tips. I will suggest to start with an easy one like the one I suggested in this thread before (arroz del senyoret). Must read the post about the different types of rice and check if you can find a proper one close to you. Also, be sure that you use a paella pan and not a frying pan. See you soon, and regards
....................Valencia has been growing and selling oranges for more than 500 years. Orange wood is very aromatic, and gives rice a special note.......
It is traditionally cooked over a fire of orange wood. Smoke scent/flavor gets into rice.
@Sheila Viana - I am very interested in reading your blog. It has been 20 years since I was on your native soil and I miss it dearly. I have been to every part of Spain, but am most familiar with Castilla y Leon, Castilla La Mancha, and Galicia. I love Valencia though. Tomatina and Las Fallas are forever etched in my brain. What part do you hail from?
It has nothing to do with storage. When you use orange wood to make a fire, the smoke gives to the rice that "special note" when cooking. In fact, when you take out the paella from the fire, you have to let it rest for at least 1 min. before serving. During that minute, it is usually covered with a cloth, cloth that, by the way, has been also exposed to smoke while cooking. In the other hand, Orange wood, apart from giving a certain aroma to the paella, provides a steady and manageable fire despite the difficulty of cooking with firewood.
@Planethoff Ooops! I forgot to tell you, I'm from Mojácar-Almería (southeast coast). There are great meat recipes in Castilla, and in Galicia, of course, the king is octopus! In Andalucía, the most common recipes to the 8 provinces during spring and summer time are "gazpacho" and "salmorejo". Also, the Region of Castilla León has been releasing extraordinary and high quality red wines from D.O. Ribera del Duero (landmark) . I specially recomend: Pruno, finca Villacreces, 2014. Excellent quality-price relation, less than 10,00€ here, so I guess less than 20$ in US.
@Sheila Viana I have been to Almeria, but not Mojacar specifically. Very beautiful area. Pulpo a la Gallego is a regular in my kitchen and I think Andaluz Gazpacho is the ultimate hangover cure on a hot day. I will look for and try the wine you recommended. Thank you.
I've seen through the net lots of paella recipes in big recipe blogs that people just copy and paste from other blogs and so on like a kids game, but nobody really knows how to cook paella or has ever cooked paella before. That's why I decided to start my own blog about what paella really is and how to cook it. The "start" is going to be my next post, but I give you in advance what it is about cause my idea is to share and bring paella to tables in a right way. The most, listen, I reapeat, THE MOST important step is the beginning and it is called "sofrito". The "Sofrito" has its own recipe and it is not cooked always the same way. It depends on the type of rice you are going to cook (seafood paella, rice soup, baked rice, meat rice.........) The TOTAL ingredients for sofrito are onion, garlic, peppers (red or green depending again), tomato (always fresh), olive oil extra virgin and the meat, vegies or fish. You don´t use always all the ingredients for sofrito, it depends again on what you're going to do, that's why there is a unique recipe for each type of paella or rice. And also, you don´t follow always the same order when adding the ingredients to the pot or pan. I know it is confusing. Of course, the second very important point is the broth. For seafood paella, depending on the main fish or shellfish, you choose a specific fish for the broth. At this point, I hope everybody understands that cooking paella is an art. The third point is the type of rice and the fourth point the type of water for the broth (yes, type of water). Because of the difficulty of giving you a specific recipe, I invite you to look around my blog (some pages aren't written yet because the blog is brand new) and pick a recipe. Then, before cooking it, we can discuss it here for tricks and tips. I will suggest to start with an easy one like the one I suggested in this thread before (arroz del senyoret). Must read the post about the different types of rice and check if you can find a proper one close to you. Also, be sure that you use a paella pan and not a frying pan. See you soon, and regards
That's awesome, thanks so much for the details. I've looked at your blog, lots of great info but unfortunately no meat paella yet... I'll be more patient!
Do you have any tips regarding gauging or measuring the ratio of rice to water? I never know the exact ratio and keep having to adjust with water toward the end which is probably far from perfect technique....
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Thanks in advance !!!
