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When going on a trip, usually everyone makes a plan of what to visit, where to go, what to eat and what to buy. We study the traditions, tastes and customs of local residents, choose the most interesting and set off to implement our plans.
One of the must-have items that anyone traveling in Spain sets out to be is paella. After all, it is impossible to go to Spain and not try paella.
What is Paella
Paella appeared in Valencia, its name comes from the Valencian “paella” – a frying pan, it is in a special frying pan with low sides that this dish is cooked. Like many of the most popular and delicious dishes, paella has long been considered a poor food.
The story that Valencians love to tell says that once upon a time the hospitable people of Valencia met an important guest. And in order to feed him deliciously, they brought from their homes everything that they were rich in. Someone brought meat, someone shellfish, vegetables, spices, rice … The result was a delicious, hearty dish, which to this day is considered the hallmark of Spain.
What is paella made from?
Paella recipes are incredible, but only three ingredients remain the same: rice, saffron, olive oil.
As for the authentic Valencian paella, in addition to rice, saffron and olive oil, green vegetables, rabbit and chicken meat, beans, snails and spices are added to it, it is called paella valenciana.
The most popular three types of paella are:
- paella valenciana with meat, beans, green vegetables and snails;
- paella marinera with fish and seafood;
- paella mixta with meat, fish, seafood, legumes and vegetables.
But in addition to these three, each Spanish region will offer several more species that are typical for this particular place.
How and with what paella is eaten
Traditionally, paella is served directly in a skillet and wooden spoons are offered as it is believed that modern metal cutlery spoils the taste of the dish. Even in the most prestigious restaurant it is not at all shameful to enjoy paella straight from the pan! But don’t worry if you don’t feel like eating with wooden spoons at all, of course, you will certainly be offered plates and cutlery.
If your paella is with unpeeled seafood, it is usually pushed to the edge to be peeled and eaten later.
Spanish wines are great for paella, depending on what kind of paella you have on the table – fish, vegetable or meat, choose red, white or rosé wine.
When the meal comes to an end, carefully scrape off the burnt crust of rice, which is called Socarrat, from the bottom and sides of the frying pan, it is simply unacceptable to leave this delicious food in the pan, it is the most delicious in paella and connoisseurs evaluate the quality of the dish precisely by it.
Worth a visit: Hemingway’s Paella Restaurant
And the story will be about the wonderful restaurant La Pepica. This is where you can taste the paella that you will never forget.
Back in 1898, the couple Francisco Balaguer Aranda and Josefa Marqués Sanchís opened the doors of La Pepica to their guests. They fed traditional Spanish food and passed all the recipes and secrets to their children, of whom they had eight. In 1923, due to a severe storm, the restaurant was destroyed. But over the next year it was rebuilt and today it is located all in the same place as almost a century ago, but now the grandchildren of this wonderful couple are feeding the guests in this restaurant.
La Pepica restaurant is very popular with locals, but visitors to the city have heard a lot about it. After all, visiting the place where Ernest Hemingway himself ate, the greatest Hollywood movie star Ava Gardner, the King of Spain Juan Carlos I, the King of Spain Philip VI and even the king of football, Pele, is a must!
The interior of the restaurant cannot be called pretentious, but you will be greeted by a spacious hall with tables covered with snow-white tablecloths, a magnificent terrace with a mesmerizing sea view, friendly staff with sincere smiles, and, most importantly, delicious food.
The restaurant menu is varied and, of course, oriented towards traditional Spanish dishes. As appetizers, you will be offered: salads, the freshest oysters, ham and cheese, grilled squids, cuttlefish, octopuses. An assortment of smoked fish, as well as a fish mix of small fish, deep-fried, of course, garlic mussels and shrimps.
The list of main dishes is adequately represented by dishes from freshly caught various fish and seafood, necessarily, dishes from meat and poultry, as well as dishes from vegetables and eggs. The restaurant will also offer a choice of tasting menus and special complex offers.
And, of course, several types of the most delicious in the city – paella! You will be offered: traditional paella valenciana, paella with seafood, paella with lobster, black paella, which is dyed with cuttlefish ink and paella, which is the star of the menu and has its own history – paella Pepica.
Once the famous Valencian artist Joaquin Sorolla was having dinner at the La Pepica restaurant. For dinner, he ordered a paella with seafood, since seafood in paella is added unpeeled, during dinner the creative person had difficulties with the process of cleaning shells and shrimps. The caring owners of the restaurant turned their attention to this, and the next time the artist returned to their place for dinner, he was served with Pepica paella, in which all the seafood had already been peeled! Since then, it has occupied the most honorable place on the menu and is the hallmark of this institution.
If you are lucky enough to visit the wonderful city of Valencia, be sure to visit the La Pepica restaurant, do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying the most delicious paella in the city.