Pass the Paella

Mercedes made paella with pork, sausage, chicken, red and green bell peppers, and peas. It was amazing. The red peppers were warm and juicy with flavor.  Mmmmmmm

It's hard to pin down my favorite dish over here, but I think paella just might be it. It's hard to talk about Spain without talking about paella -- it's a staple in the food culture.

Our teacher told us that paella originated as poor people's food -- they would just mix whatever they had around the house to make it. This is probably the reason that dozens and dozens of different recipes exist. Some paella dishes are made with seafood, others with chorizo, some are even vegetarian. The common thread amongst all dishes is that they are made with rice.... and they are cooked with saffron and olive oil.

Given the hype from every person I talk to about paella, I don't think the exact meats and vegetables matter. It's all delicioso.