paella valenciana

An authentic paella valenciana, not only homemade but over a bonfire. This is a yearly event near the Valencia harbor. It was not only a wonderful spring day, the festive atmosphere was incredible, these are the times when I wish I was more vivid with words to describe the event. Fire for the paellas were started on sand to avoid leaving ugly marks on the pavement. The paellas were set in rows, with tables at each side were people were not starving : there was plenty of Spanish specialties including ham, cold cuts and goat cheese from La Mancha , like the pictured platter. And also a wide variety of drinks! Predominantly beer and red wine.




It took over one hour for each paella to be ready to eat. Each group made its own, better said: they assigned a couple of them to organize the cooking (notice the cooks are all men!) and everybody had a great time chatting , drinking and eating. A wonderful paella celebration! For the ones wondering about the ingredients: ours had green beans, chicken and rabbit. No snails. But the one we had a day later at a restaurant was supposed to be the very traditional one and it had snails. I left them where they were!

There was live music at the beginning too. Afterwards everybody was too busy to listen to the band. And note that small pot over the fire: it was a rhum punch placed over the fire after the paella was cooked. I didn't try it as there was more partying planned for the evening! Valencia is beginning its annual big celebration: the Fallas. Find some information here and here, ..."Las Fallas de Valencia is ... a loud, smoky, rowdy fiesta where the whole town is literally set ablaze!Las Fallas is undoubtedly one of the most unique and crazy festivals in Spain (a country known for unique and crazy festivals). What started as a feast day for St. Joseph (March 19), the patron saint of carpenters, has evolved into a 5-day, multifaceted celebration of fire. Valencia is usually a quiet city with a population of a half-million, but the town swells to an estimated three million flame-loving revelers during Las Fallas." Some more to come. Same place, same blog ;)