The first thing many foreign friends ask of me when they come to Barcelona is where to get an authentic and affordable paella . It is true that there are several ways to enjoy a good paella, as we wrote earlier in one of our articles.
Related article: Good paella in Barcelona
Inhoudsopgave
Basic information about paella
But the question is, what is the “real” paella everyone should try? Given the many variations of the paella, it is not easy to give an answer. A Valencian will say the real chicken and rabbit paella should be.
Someone from Barcelona will probably tell you that a good paella is full of shrimps, prawns, mussels, sepia and other sea fruits. Some people will even tell you that the real paella is a cross between the two.
Photo via Pixabay
However, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. The real paella is a local recipe and is eaten differently all over Spain . It depends entirely on your preferences and the ingredients you use as your home a paella making.
When you order a paella in a restaurant, you naturally choose the one that suits you best with the ingredients according to your own taste and price range. The paella with seafood is often the most expensive, for vegetarians you also have a delicious paella de verduras (paella with vegetables) that is cheaper.
You can also get a paella with “ black rice ”, but this is not vegetarian. The rice is colored black due to the sepia. The paella contains other delicious seafood in addition to the sepia .
The various types of paella
La Paella de Marisco – seafood paella
This multicolored paella has the many shellfish of the sea as ingredients: mussels, sepia (cuttlefish), prawns, perch, shrimps etcetera mixed with yellow rice .
A real paella is colored yellow because of the saffron , but because this is often too expensive, a coloring agent is used instead to make the paella even more yellow.
Photo by Jorge Franganillo via Visualhunt
If you are not much of a meat eater, the Paella de Marisco is a delicious alternative. Especially when you are in the coastal towns of Catalonia .
The shellfish and fish are then wonderfully fresh . It is one of the paella variations that is absolutely worth your while.
From Valenciaanse Paella
This paella variation is seen by many as the original paella. A rice dish that was made in the countryside and fired on wood.
Ze bevat dan ook de ingrediënten die je op de “campo” kunt vinden. Zoals kip, konijn, groene bonen, garrofones (boterbonen), artisjokken, witte bonen en tomaten.
Foto door c.c. via Visualhunt
Wanneer je een vleeseter bent, een stevige honger hebt en houdt van de verschillende ingrediënten, dan is deze paella echt een aanrader.
Neem er de tijd voor en laat je verwennen met deze typische Valenciaanse schotel.
Zoek je woonruimte in Barcelona voor langere tijd?
Gerelateerd artikel: Fideuà eten in Barcelona
De zee en de bergen Paella – of de “mixta”
Deze variatie heeft alle ingrediënten die, zoals de naam al zegt, komen van zowel de zee als van het binnenland van Spanje.
Kip, varkensvlees, garnalen, mosselen, groene bonen, “garrofones”, sepia, rode peper, te veel om op te noemen…
Foto door Northdownsman via Visualhunt
Voor sommigen is deze paella niet echt en een belediging voor de authentieke paella, maar het kan een zeer goede keuze zijn wanneer je de smaak van de Valenciaanse variant wil, maar zonder het zeefruit van Barcelona te missen.
By the way, did you know that the word ” paella ” comes from the two Spanish words “para” and “Ella”, which means ” to her” ? The husband originally made this dish for his wife and family. Quite a nice thought!
Where have you eaten the best paella in Barcelona?
