Paella

Of all the food I came to eat in Barcelona, my favorite, by far, was Paella. In class we learned a little but about the history of Paella. Paella was originally a peasant food and depending whether one lived on the coast or inland, there were different variations. Paella made by peasant families on the coast featured seafood such as shrimp and mussels. Paella made by peasant families inland and away from the coast often had meats such as chicken or rabbit. It was a peasant food because it was mainly composed of rice which is a very cheap staple food. Peasants added whatever meat was available to finish off the dish. The first time I ate Paella was in Valencia and I had it both nights while there. The first night I ate paella it was a seafood paella and the second night it was a chicken paellla, or so I thought. After we finished the delicious meal, we got the check and looked it over and saw that the paella we just ate was rabbit paella. At first I was kind of disgusted and felt like throwing up everything I just ate because growing up, my family had a pet rabbit. Then I accepted it and moved on to desert. The best paella I had in Barcelona was with my dad when he came to visit. He had heard from friends and read about this restaurant before he came that the served the best paella in the entire city. The place was called 7 Portes and it really was unbelievable. It was a seafood paella that came out steaming hot and had so much flavor. I didn't even wait to let the rice cool down because it smelled so good. I burnt my throat and tongue but nothing else mattered as long as it ended up in my stomach. Since that meal I've been searching for equivalent paella and nothing has compared. I doubt I'll make it back to 7 Portes any time soon but hopefully one day. The paella in the picture is actually paella made by my RA and it was very good also.