To make your sofrito base, add olive oil (a staple in Spanish cuisine) along with onion, garlic and bell peppers to your large pan. You can then add flat green beans, tomatoes and chicken. Next, you’ll add in your short, round rice that is designed to absorb as much flavor as possible. You can now add in your spiced chicken or vegetable broth and mix. You’ll notice how this is turning your rice golden because of the saffron! After it has cooked for some time, you can have some fun and decorate your paella! Spread the shrimp, mussels and calamari evenly on the surface of your pan. Cover your beautiful design and let it finish cooking. Once it’s finished, you can serve a warm plate to friends or family!
Traditionally, paella may be cooked outdoors or over an open fire as well as in much larger special paella pans!
In Spain, it is very common to use local resources and work with the environment to have fresh ingredients and healthy meals. Traditional paella truly takes advantage of the coastal resources of Valencia by featuring fresh shellfish. Because of this freshness, it is still a more common dish in coastal cities, even though paella is found throughout Spain. Spain also has a dry climate for growing rice. However, when Moors (Arab communities) occupied Spain, they used Roman irrigation systems (supplying water to crops through channels) to help the new rice fields grow. This being said, global warming is having an effect on traditional paella. In Valencia, the recipe often includes a type of lima bean, garrafón, that is native to the region, but because of global warming, it may soon be too warm to grow the bean there.
