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Paella is one of the few words in Spanish that most people know ...though even celebrity TV cook Delia Smith managed to mess up its pronunciation. This quintessentially Spanish dish was invented in the province of Valencia. A common mistake made concerning Paella is that it is a dish that is only ever made with fish and shellfish. This assumption appears to be based solely on the fact that this form of Paella is popular with tourists! In point of fact the original Valencian Paella is made with meat! |
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How many of us have ever seen a Paella this big? This magnificent specimen was being prepared at a local village fiesta. I had heard about Paella dishes this big and always thought the stories were fictions like striped paint or glass nails! You might be forgiven for thinking that the bonfire underneath the dish is because it was the only source of heat big enough ...in which case read on! |
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In point of fact, Paella is traditionally cooked over firewood because the smoke adds to the delicious taste. Paella never tastes quite the same when cooked over gas or electricity. The chap in the foreground (left) is about to add some more wood. The Spanish language has two different words for wood "leņa" (firewood) and "madera" (wood you make things with) ...our friend in the foreground has some wood that was once madera and is now leņa! |
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