Paella is here! tuut tuut!! please excuse my enthusiasm, but I was very looking forward to try this one. As I was telling you last Thursday, for my mom’s birthday we invited her to eat a very famous paella from Ca la Nuri, a fish tapas & rice restaurant in La Barceloneta.
Although it may look like a cliché (paella & barcelona) I enjoy so much paella and all type of fish/seafood rices in general. I guess being raised in a town near the sea and thus having a quick, affordable access to the most delicious fresh fish, makes either you a total fan of almost every single variety or totally sick of it.
Regarding the ingredients there are several types of popular paellas, or what I believe we here plainly call “rice”. All of them though share the same characteristic, the rice must be dry leaving the grains separated. You can find meat, seafood or both of things together varieties, even a really popular one which is called “black rice” colored with squid’s ink. My favorites hands down are the ones with cuttlefish, shrimp or crawfish and/or lobster. Have you ever had paella? Which ones is your favorite type?
We also ordered a few tapas as starters: mussels, spicy potatoes (not bravas!) and monkfish & shrimp croquettes.
The rice from Ca La Nuri had a good strong flavor typical of paella but without being too salty, just the perfect balance. I would have preferred a softer squid, but I think it’s one of those things that depend on the eater preferences, my taste is totally determined by what was grandma’s cooking style (grandmas! always the best cooks!). I you are wondering about prices, a good paella is around 20€ per person which is really reasonable taking into account the seafood and the amount of work & skill it takes to make a nice one. If you come to Barcelona don’t miss this experience and make sure to look for a good place; it can make a world of difference!
I know you must be already tired (or hungry) to read me talking about paella, but I had to mention one last thing: a fun fact! Do you know that it is a widely acknowledge fact that there is a day of the week when you are supposed to eat paella, and every restaurant (specially the most classic ones) offers it in its lunch menu? it is quite funny, but if you ask anyone here what would be the menu on a Thursday, they are going to say: Jueves? Paella!
All in all a beautiful day to remember. Which makes me wonder, why we don’t stop more often in la Barceloneta beach? The sea view definitely brings me lots of smiles! Do you like paella or rice dishes in general? Does the sea view also makes you feel butterflies?