“Keep stirring! Don’t stop!” said my boyfriend’s mother, Franca, in broken English. When she offered to teach me how to make Spain’s famous Paella dish the day before, I did not imagine the time nor effort it would entail. How difficult could making rice be?!
I will tell you: fairly difficult and reasonably time-consuming. Paella is all about technique; when cooked right, it becomes a marvel of texture and al dente creaminess. Cooking it right, however, undoubtedly requires cariño—love and care. This is not a meal to be rushed or created on the fly; hence, the Spanish tradition for eating paella on Sundays, when family and friends have time to enjoy the meal together.
Paella, originally from the Spanish region of Valencia, is Spain’s national dish. Despite its many variations, all recipes use the same cooking technique, long-grain rice, and spices. Learning the nuances of Paella from a native Spaniard was an unparalleled, special experience.
Franca is the kind of Andalucían mother that goes out of her way to make you feel comfortable, so it wasn’t a surprise when she whipped out a bottle of white wine for us to share while cooking. For the next two hours, she was there to critique my technique—“Do not add too much broth!”—and to praise my efforts – “Beautiful! Stir slowly, like that!” with a hand gesture suggesting I was doing a good job. When gestures weren’t enough, I ran around the house for a Spanish-English dictionary to look up a word, an experience that was met with laughter for both Franca and I. In fact, it was during this experience I learned much of my Spanish cooking-related vocabulary!
Despite Franca's old age and broken English, she had a smile permanently painted on her face—a reminder that cooking is an act of pleasure and love with the power to unify different cultures. The joy, laughter, and praise of deliciousness from my boyfriend’s family afterwards were a testament to how gratifying cooking can be, regardless of culture or language.
