September 20th: World Paella Day

Enjoy a cozy warm dish of saffron rice completed with ripe peppers, juicy tomatoes and an array of other tasty ingredients, even if to define exactly what paella contains is almost impossible, as there are as many variations of paella as there are cooks, with many claiming that their recipe is the best or most authentic.
In any case it is a trademark of traditional Spanish cuisine with a background that can be traced back at least to the 18th century, originating in the area around Valencia.
Located Eastern Spain, it is one of the largest natural ports in the Mediterranean and has been one of the most important rice-producing areas in European country since rice was introduced by the Moors over 1200 years ago.
Interestingly, the Spanish word for rice is “arroz”, from Arabic, and not Latin like most of Castilian Spanish!

As story goes, it was likely made by farmers who simply made a lunch out of the food they happened to have in their hands: rice, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes even snails!
Other ingredients were added as they were accessible, including beans, rabbit or duck and, for special occasions, chicken and a touch of saffron.
“Valencian rice” was also traditionally eaten straight from the pan in which it was cooked with each person using his own wooden spoon.
Of course elements of paella have evolved over time, spreading throughout the world with the diaspora of Spanish people and, when the mid-20th century brought a boost of tourism to Spain, it became a dish synonymous with the culture there.
Little by little, as the dish became more widely available, recipes were adapted with new variations appearing and, with Valencia being on the coast, it is no surprise that various types of seafood crept into the recipes over the generations. Now paella is simply the name of 200 or so different rice dishes or ‘arroces’ from the Valencia region let alone other parts of Spain and the rest of the world, but still today a “true” Paella Valenciana has actually no seafood but a mixture of chicken, rabbit and snails with green and white beans.

Sometimes called the International Day of Paella, this day was founded by a group of folks in Valencia eager to share their love of this native dish with the world.
The inaugural World Paella Day dates back to 2018 and, as the event grows each year, the organizers invite participants to learn, taste, and enjoy all things related to paella!
And no other place on earth could be quite as authentic to celebrate this day than heading over to the city of its origins, Valencia.
During this event and the days surrounding it, locals will be preparing to welcome visitors from all around the globe, so this would be a great time to join in on the fun!
But this is a worldwide event, and participants can attend World Paella Day activities in many different cities each year, including New York, Tokyo, Stockholm, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Peking, Bombay and more.

Ok…but why this name?
It’s a little confusing but ’paella’ is probably the name for cooking pan itself, and not the dish.
The word comes from old Valencian, similar to Catalan, and probably has its roots in the Latin ‘patella’ meaning pan.
There are however, some other wonderful but less likely theories about the origins of the name, with the most romantic that suggests that the dish was first prepared by a lover for his girlfriend, and that the word is a corruption of “para ella”, meaning “for her” in Spanish.
However, like all myths, there is a small grain of truth in this and although many women still traditionally do the cooking in Spain, making paella is usually left to the men!
It has also been suggested that the word “paella” came from the Arabic word “Baqiyah”, which means “leftovers”, once again emphasizing both the dish’s humble and arabic beginnings…

Images from web – Google Research