You cannot come to Valencia and not eat paella. If you are going to eat paella, you should really jump on the No.24 bus and head to the historic home of Valencia’s most famous dish, the village of El Palmar in the Parc Natural de l’Albufera. Not only will you be treated to a delicious lunch, you can eat it looking out over the rice fields that provide this classic dish with its main ingredient: Bomba rice.
Paella itself is named after the Catalan word for pan, large and round with a thin base. A good paella has a slightly burnt crust of rice on the bottom, and the seafood paella we ordered at the Bon Aire, a restaurant that has been cooking up tasty Valencian treats for forty years, was a good one. The bacalao croquetas were also delicious. We washed it all down with a local wine while sat by a canal overlooking rice fields.
As is traditional, our paella came with bajoqueta and tavella, two types of green bean, and butter beans. These are almost more delicious than the seafood, and certainly an improvement on water vole, which once provided the meat in paella for poorer families. It was one of those lunches that is remembered years later, as much for the food as for the setting and experience. It’s one I fully intend to repeat as soon as possible.
We caught an early bus from Valencia and found ourselves on a narrow road passing rice fields. When the green-brown waters of the lagoon appeared we knew we were close to El Palmar. The freshwater lagoon at the heart of Parc Natural de l’Albufera is Spain’s largest. An important nature reserve, it provides a habitat for 300 different species of bird – including flamingoes – as well as irrigation for the rice fields.
The bus dropped us in the centre of the village, home to around 800 people and which is little more than three or four parallel streets crammed with restaurants and boat hire places. Other than eating, taking a boat out on the lagoon is pretty much the only other activity in El Palmar. It’s a wonderful way to spend an hour or two before or after lunch. We booked tickets and took a stroll around the streets.
Arriving at the small harbour where we would pick up our boat, we passed the Trilladora del Tocaio, where rice was dried and threshed ready for market. Looking across the water, several of these buildings can be seen dotted amongst the landscape. Some are open to the public as historic monuments, others in private hands, but they are no longer used to dry rice.
Once on the water, we sailed through channels overshadowed by tall grasses. We passed houses with very steep traditional thatched roofs before hitting the open water of the lagoon. In the distance, Valencia shone in the sun, but out on the lagoon the only noise was the breeze and small waves hitting the boat. It is a truly lovely experience and we’d set off early enough to be one of the few boats on the water. Sailing made us hungry.
Today, the village seems to exist to serve up paella to the adoring hordes who flock here on weekends. It could have been a very touristy experience, but we loved it. Despite tourism being a major industry, it still feels authentic. We came on a week day and there were plenty of boats heading out into the lagoon and the restaurant was full. I’m not sure I’d want to come in summer.
OK, so now I have a paella craving – and it’s 8:15 which is far too early. I may have to drag my paella pan out into the daylight at the weekend…
Nothing better than a good paella, except the ones they used to make with water vole!