Memories of Paella

May 2019

We used to travel a lot. Not now. Not sure what that will be like in the future either. So I'm really grateful for all the fun trips we've taken to file away in our fond memories. One of those recent trips last summer had us exploring a few European cities (with a pit stop in London which is where the photo above was taken on the way to Spain) in Besalu, Girona, Barcelona and Valencia where paella was born. I've been making a staple seafood version I found in a magazine ions ago (the cover GIF for this JAM Fall issue is the most recent paella we made at home using that exact recipe) but realized the original dish in Spain was nothing like mine. On the way to a quiet area called El Saler south of the city heading to an empty beach for the most perfect seaside lunch of traditional Valencian paella, we drove by the pretty coastal countryside where the original rice fields for paella used to grow. It reminded me of how dishes evolve with time, different locale, cultures, ethnicities and how any of the recipes we are sharing can be modified to ones liking. Search paella and find the one that suits you and be prepared to make with time and care.