Paella is the name of the pan before it is the name of the dish, and in Valencia, where it was born among the rice fields of the Albufera lagoon, the classic version contains no seafood and certainly no chorizo. It is a country dish of chicken, rabbit, flat green beans and big white garrofó beans, colored with saffron and paprika and cooked over an open fire on a Sunday, ideally by someone who has strong opinions about it. Valenciennes have plenty of those, and most of them concern things other people put in.

The technique is the reverse of risotto: once the rice goes in, you do not stir. It cooks in a thin layer, absorbing a well flavored broth, and is left on the heat at the end until the bottom toasts into the socarrat, the crisp crust everyone fights over. The Grand Prix of Europe once raced through Valencia's harbor; this is a far older local tradition, and a better one to bring home.

The sofrito and broth

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb (570 g) bone in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3/4 lb (340 g) rabbit
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 8 oz (225 g) flat green beans
• 1 cup (150 g) garrofó beans
• 1 large ripe tomato
• 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
• 6 cups (1.4 liters) water
• 1 generous pinch (about 20 threads) saffron

The rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) bomba rice
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon

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