Secrets of Authentic Paella from Valencia, Spain

Madrid was fantastic – I loved it! But, after a sizzling few weeks there, I was ready for a beach vacation (as usual!). I opted for Valencia, where I was pleasantly stunned to encounter a fabulous local festival, Les Falles – check it out if you haven’t heard of it. A visit to the largest aquarium in Europe and taking a paella cooking class were items on my agenda.

Ingredients for Authentic Paella

True Valencian paella is made with rice, chicken and rabbit pieces, tomatoes, broad beans, lima beans, snails, rosemary, paprika, water, salt, and an infusion of saffron – that’s it! No onions, peppers, sausage. The special rice used for paella is grown in the Albufera area, just outside Valencia. It’s called bomba rice, a round variety, smaller than the round rice used in risotto.

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First: Shopping at Ruzafa Market

I’d arrived early to the meeting place so I could grab a cappucino and croissant at a nearby cafe. The Ruzafa neighborhood is quite charming; I was glad to have some time to wander around.

We met Jose, our guide, at the steps of Parroquia San Valero at 11:00, very near Ruzafa Market. Three of the students were late, which gave the rest of us an opportunity to explore this beautiful church before heading to the market.

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The school already had the rice and seasonings; we needed to pick up the meat, seafood, and vegetables needed to make both Valencian paella and seafood paella. The market was fragrant and gorgeous, so many fruit, vegetable, meat, and fish stands – with many, many booths providing ham of all sorts, of course. Jose explained that jamon iberico comes from the local black pigs. The Spanish definitely love their ham!

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Arriving at the School

My First Paella Experience school was a short walk from the market. When we arrived, we were greeted by Chef Jordi, who was preparing tapas for us. He had mussels, olives, cheese, ham, and Spanish tortilla (a potato omelet which I’d learned to love in Madrid). Jose showed us how to make sangria, and we got right into the sangria and tapas while Jose and Jordi arranged all the paella ingredients into bowls. Jose had me prepare the next 2 pitchers of sangria – we were all thirsty! 😜

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To make sangria: Place sliced oranges and lemons into a carafe and add sugar to taste. Add red vermouth and a little black rum. Put a cinnamon stick in it and marinate 2 hours to overnight. Fill the carafe with red wine and orange soda.

Jose also explained how to make Agua de Valencia: rum, vodka, sparkling wine, and oj.

Preparing the Paella Ingredients

Five of us had chosen to prepare Valencian paella, and 7 others made seafood paella. We divided up, and our first step was to prepare the saffron mixture. We took a pinch of saffron and salt, added olive oil, and ground this to a paste, then added about a cup and a half of water.

From here, I’ll describe making the Valencian paella, and add info about the seafood paella as we go along. The broad beans (called “ferraura”) were snapped by hand, and we shelled the fresh lima beans. To prepare the lima beans, we poured boiling water over them and allowed them to soften as we made other preparations.

I’d never grated fresh tomatoes before – what a great idea! Using an upright grater like the ones our moms had, I cut the tomatoes in half and rubbed them against the grater – it pulverized the insides, and left the skins behind. Awesome! We used meaty tomatoes, like plum tomatoes.

Jordi had prepared the broth ahead of time – he browned carrot, celery, and onion, then added water and simmered for 30 minutes. He had 2 types of paprika, both sweet; one was a coarse grind, the other was fine.

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The pans used to make paella are also called paellas. They come in many sizes, with burners to match. The paellas are thin, and somewhat indented in the center.

Cooking Valencian Paella

We added olive oil to the paella pan around the outside, and watched as it heated and ran to the center of the pan. When very hot, we sautéed the chicken pieces first, later adding the rabbit, and cooked the meat until quite brown and sealed. (Use meat with the bone in for extra richness.) When they were done, the meat pieces were pushed to the outer rim of the pan, and the broad beans were added and cooked. The softened lima beans came next, with the grated tomatoes.

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Next, we added water, broth, and the saffron mixture, reduced the liquid, added the rice (Chef Jordi recommends 100 grams of rice per person – I think 50 is plenty!) and salt, and stirred well. A sprig of fresh rosemary went on top, and in 15 minutes, when the rice was almost dry, we added cooked snails. To get a crusty bottom, add oil around the outside of the pan towards the end. Let it rest for about 10 minutes for the flavors to mix.

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Ingredients for 4 people:

• 400 g rice
• 500 g chicken and 300 g rabbit
• 200 g beans (perona, tavella, and rojet), fresh garrofon
• 2 pear tomatoes
• pinch of saffron, red paprika, rosemary
• cooked snails
• salt and olive oil
• broth

Seafood Paella

In the meantime, over at the seafood paella area, they sautéed the seafood first, and added the rice before the broth and saffron mixture. Sauté the rice for 3-5 minutes, add broth, boil furiously for 5 minutes, then reduce to low heat for 10-13 more minutes.

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Seafood Paella Ingredients:

• 400 g rice
• 1 nora pepper
• seafood: 1 cuttlefish, 1 squid, 100 g monkfish, 150 g shrimp, peeled prawns, mussels
• saffron, garlic, parsley, tomato
• broth

In both cases, while the rice was cooking, Chef Jordi taught us his favorite toast (“Health and Strength to All.”), and we sampled some cassalla – a dangerous, anise-flavored liqueur. And, of course, there was more sangria! 🤪

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By the time the paellas were finished and the sampling began, we were all pretty sloshed and having a great time. I met 2 women in the class who I’ve kept up with; Marisol and Tami. Who says traveling solo is lonely? Not if you’re active and friendly!

Recipes & the School’s Website

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Find these 2 recipes plus one for vegan paella at My First Paella School, plus info on their classes. And, here’s a recipe for Spanish Tortilla.

Restaurant Paella as a Solo Traveler

I’d heard from a Madrid friend that the best place to try prepared paella in Valencia is at La Pepica Restaurant – near where I was staying at the beach. Unfortunately, one can only order paella for two. I was thinking about getting a double order for myself just so I could try it – but luckily encountered another solo traveler who wanted to try paella at Le Pepica as well!

Neils was vacationing from The Netherlands, and we met when he thought I’d taken his sun hammock at our hotel’s pool. We struck up a conversation, and had dinner together a few times. Neils also accompanied me to watch Le Crema during the Les Falles celebrations.

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In Conclusion

I had a great time during my solo travels in Spain this summer – first in Madrid, then volunteering in Belmonte, and finally at the beach in Valencia. When there’s no one to go with me on a trip, it’s as much fun (or more 😉) to go on my own – there are always things to learn, people to meet, activities to try. It may be easier for me, as a more mature woman solo traveler – I’ve not been hassled as I may have been when I was 30! Do you travel on your own often? Let’s compare notes.

This paella cooking class was a wonderful experience; though I don’t cook much anymore, now I can say that I know how to make authentic Valencian paella. Let me know if you try it out! I’d love to hear how it goes.

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