Paella: which types it suits

Paella is rice from Valencia cooked in a thin layer in a wide, shallow pan, and the word itself means that pan. The original Valencian version uses chicken and rabbit, flat green beans, large white beans and saffron, and once the rice goes in it is not stirred, so a crisp layer called socarrat forms on the bottom. Locally it is a lunch dish rather than a dinner one, and because restaurants cook it to order, many serve it for a minimum of two with a wait of twenty minutes or more.

People who love it are the ones who plan and lead a meal that brings everyone together. Choosing the pan size for the group, ordering ahead, and conducting a process in which one adjustment of the heat decides the socarrat all bring their own satisfaction. It hardly works for one; it only becomes itself when a group shares a single pan. The pride of keeping to the proper method and the pride of feeding a crowd land in the same pan.