Paella

There are several versions of this tasteful rice dish: paella valenciana, with meat (chicken and/or rabbit usually), paella de marisco, with fish or seafood, or even paella mixta, with meat and fish at the same time, the least popular among locals. It is very difficult to say which is the 'real' paella, as every person has his/her own version (though no paella that deserves this name contains sausage, ham or meat broth, for instance). If you want to eat an authentic paella, try it at the Malvarrosa beach area; you will find there are several good restaurants. The authentic Valencian paella is made only with fresh ingredients, in a special iron pan and using a fire made with wood (not gas or electricity). Vegetarian paella is called paella vegetal or paella de verduras. Authentic paella can be rather dry, it's not a soup and shouldn't look like gumbo. Don't be shy about scraping the caramelized rice from the bottom of the pan, it's delicious!

• outdoors
• vegetarian