Paella Pilgrimage to Valencia
Valencia is the birthplace of paella and a fantastic city. In January, I decided to make a pilgrimage to learn more about paella cooking, taste some great paella, and learn from some of the great chefs. I spent about a week and realized I just scratched the surface. So much more to experience!
Valencia lies about 220 miles east of Madrid and is located in the mountains as well as on the coast of the Mediterranean. Paella Valenciana is the original paella. It is made with a variety of proteins - the most common being chicken, rabbit, and snails. Yes, snails. Sometimes, depending on the season, duck may be added as well. In addition, it contains a long, flat bean, known in the US as a romano or runner bean, in addition to the garrofón bean. Garrofón is similar to a butterbean or lima bean. It is large and very creamy in texture. Garrofón is nearly impossible to get in the US, and I approximate it with a large butterbean.
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On the coast, they make a variety of seafood paellas. Shrimp, prawns, and langoustines are typical as are calamari. What is interesting is the Valencianos never mix land and sea paella. So, shrimp and chicken? Does not exist in any self respecting Valencian restaurant. To honor this tradition, I never make paella mixta or Mar y Montaña.
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One of my first stops was to Barraca Toni Montoliu. This restaurant is 15-20 minutes outside of the city in the farm lands. Toni is first a farmer. I met him when he drove up on his tractor with his artichoke harvest for the day. Don't underestimate a farmer. He is one of the top paella chefs in Spain and regularly recognized as such. Toni holds to tradition. He cooks on a fire which is fueled by orange wood and reeds from the lakeside. He uses simple ingredients and great technique to make something special! I was able to join the team for an afternoon to help cook the lunch time paella Valenciana - the only paella they serve. What an experience!
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A day after visiting Toni, I took a course in paella mastery. It was with an organization called Sea Saffron. The course started out with a shopping trip to the Mercat Central de València - the central market of Valencia. What an experience! It is the largest market in Europe with multiple stalls/vendors selling specialty items. Wow! Great stuff. We bought beans, snails and everything needed. With help from the executive chef, we made paella Valenciana. With a few sides, wine, dessert, and aperitifs, it was a wonderful experience.
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After thinking I have mastered paella Valenciana, I went to the coast to learn more about seafood paella. We went to Arroceria Maribel. It is in El Palmar near the water in the Parque Natural de la Albuera and has a mention the in the Michelin Guide. I was able to spend several hours in the kitchen and enjoying some great paella. The technique was very different. A quick cook of the shrimp and langoustines, a flavorful base, and adding the seafood back at the end as to not overcook. They also cooked on natural gas paella burners like I normally use.
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What a learning experience - culture through food as well as ingredients and technique. I need to go back, well, really want to go back! Casa Carmela is on my list and I have a few more. Enjoy the pictures!
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Valencia
El Palmar
Barraca Toni Montiliu
Central Market
Paella Cooking Course
Arrocería Maribel
I joined the board of Sonrisas Dental Health in 2014. Sonrisas is a non-profit community dental clinic that provides healthcare to people who face barriers to care. It was founded in 2001 to serve the farmworker community in Half Moon Bay. What's the connection to paella you maybe thinking...
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After joining the board and having recently moved back to Half Moon Bay after living in Spain, we needed to raise money, so I came up with the concept of Cooking for a Cause Paella Demonstration and Dinner. I learned to cook paella in Spain and thought it was the perfect dish for a fundraiser. Cooking for a Cause Paella Demonstration and Dinner was born in 2014 and we had 55 supporters attend. My two friends and I provided a demonstration and cooked three paellas. It was a hit! People really enjoyed it because it wasn't a sit down event in a restaurant or ballroom, and it was fun and unique. Every year, Cooking for a Cause has grown. Now, in our 11th year, we are expecting 200 people. We hold it in September, and if you want to attend, please visit www.sonrisasdental.org
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Cooking for a Cause is a great event I have supported for 11 years. It was in the last couple of years that I began to think about catering. Seeing how much people enjoy it, get engaged in conversation and wonder at the big pans of paella, brought me the idea of Paella Experience. Enjoy some pictures from over the years, the smiles, and great looking paella! By the way, in Spanish, Sonrisas means smiles.
Amizetta Winery
Amizetta Winery brought us in for a member appreciation event after an extensive build of their new tasting room and patio. They wanted to do something nice for 30+ of their members who have not been able to enjoy a winery visit in a few years. They wanted their members to enjoy their incredibly good wine, have some tapas, and the experience of seeing the paella cooking, and having some great paella! A person at the winery had worked at another winery where they had a paella experience. Based on the success at the other winery, Amizetta hired Paella Experience for their member appreciation event.
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We worked with the Amizetta team on a menu. Start off with pan con tomate (baguette slices with tomato) and con Jamon (with ham). Serve a vegan paella and a seafood paella accompanied by a fresh, seasonal salad. After the late lunch, we would serve tarta de Santiago topped with powdered sugar in the the shape of their logo.
The members arrived at 3:00. We had been there since 2:00 doing the set up. At 3:00, members arrived and they were greeted with glasses of wine and the pan con tomate y jamon. Members enjoyed watching the paella cook and engaged in lots of conversation. Spencer Clark, the proprietor, sang and played his guitar for the enjoyment of all. He was really good!
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At 4:15 the paellas were ready to serve. Members got their plates, served themselves salad and sherry vinaigrette before coming to the pans and asking for a serving of one or both paellas and the special requests - more mushrooms, no clams, more scallops...
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After everyone had eaten, and some had seconds, the general manager took a cake to the table and shared the story of the logo and how it was designed by Spencer Clark You will see the logo is an A and a V, but the secret shared, was that it also formed Spencer's initials - SC. After the show, cake was served.
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We received rave reviews on the paella and food. While folks were eating dessert, we packed up and left Amizetta around 5:30.
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A GREAT day!
