The Valencian gastronomy is based principally, though not exclusively, in the rice, and to understand the reasons, it is necessary to come to the history:

The Arabs brought this cereal to West, and introduced it in Spain (then called Al-Andalus), in the swampy lands of the Mediterranean, which were offering suitable conditions for its growing.

In the 13th century, Jaime I conquered the Kingdom of Valencia for the Christians, and discovered the rice, which the Valencians were not consuming in grain, but in semola or flour. It was substituting the wheat for being cheaper and productive, and it was coming to be looked by merchants of other lands. The intensive growing of the rice in Valencian lands influenced the customs of its inhabitants, who little by little were inventing different ways of cooking it (there are more than hundred different recipes from rice).

The rice cooked of one or another way, has been the most popular plate in the city of Valencia, being frequent, in the bosom of many families, which the rice was consuming almost every day of the week, though it is true that the customs change, and that the pace of current life, and the fact that both the man and the woman work and eat out of house, there is disminuído sensitively the consumption of rice.

The Valencian paella is, undoubtedly, the most widespread international and famous dish. But ... which is the recipe of the authentic Valencian paella?...

On being a popular dish, there isn't a rigorous norm that indicates the exact ingredients and the correct procedure, but there are three invariable elements that are typical (or they should) of all the Valencian paellas:

1.-The rice: There are preferable the rices of average or short grain. Never use rice of long grain, because it absorbs less broth and does not turn out to be so tasty.

2.-The heat : it must be uniform and heat the whole base of the paella. It is very difficult to obtain an acceptable paella with the simple burner of the kitchen. You will need a special device: the paellero, made with several concentric hoops perforated to allow the exit of the gas and to form small flames that cook the paella in all his surface.

3.-The container of boiling: a paella must be used always to cook paellas. In Valencia, it is called a "paella" to the container of iron, of scanty height, which is in use for cooking. It is synonymous of frying pan, and its name comes from the Latin "patella".

INGREDIENTS (for 4 persons):

• 500 gr. of chicken
• 500 gr. of rabbit
• 300 gr. of bajoca (green broad bean)
• 250 gr. of garrofó (white broad bean)
• 100 gr. of tomato
• 400 gr. of rice
• 100 cc. of virgin olive oil
• Saffron or food yellow colouring
• Salt
• Paprika

1. Heat the oil in the paella (frying pan). When it starts smoking, add the chicken and the rabbit cut into pieces. Fry at average heat until they remain golden.
2. Add the bajoca cut into pieces, and the garrofó, and fry with the meat during two minutes.
3. Move the meat and the vegetables to the edges of the paella, and in the center, fry the grated tomato, and a teaspoonful of paprika, for a minute, removing well in order that the paprika is not burned.
4. Add water, up to the edge of the paella, and salt.
5. Let everything cooking for 30 minutes, or until the broth has gone down up to the clinches of the pan handles. Verify the salt.
6. Add the saffron or the colouring, and immediately afterwards, the rice, distributing it for the whole paella. The first 10 minutes of boiling of the rice, cook on strong heat, later, on low heat. Do not remove the rice.
7. When the broth has evaporated, take the paella out from burner and let it stand for five minutes.

• The rice, once distributed in the paella, must not be removed. Otherwise, it will be giving up its starch and ultimately, the grain will not remain free.
• If the rice seems to be already cooked, but still there remains great broth, raise the heat to the maximum in order to evaporate the broth as soon as possible.
• On the contrary, if the rice is still hard, and broth stays little, lower the heat in order to cooks at slow heat and, when the broth has evaporated, if the rice is still hard, take the paella out of heat and cover it with silver foil, or a moistened rag, for some minutes.