Seafood paella

Seafood paella

Paella is a rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon near the eastern coast of Spain's Valencian region. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish. However, most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identity symbols.

During the 20th century, paella's popularity spread past Spain's borders. As other cultures set out to make paella, the dish invariably acquired regional influences. Consequently, paella recipes went from being relatively simple to including a wide variety of seafood, meat, sausage, (the most popular being Spanish, chorizo) vegetables and many different seasonings. However, the most globally popular recipe is seafood paella.

There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella, seafood paella and mixed paella; but there are many others as well. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat, snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables and sometimes beans.

Paella has gained considerable popularity throughout most of the Spanish-speaking world and among Hispanics in the United States. It also enjoys moderate popularity throughout Western Europe.