paella, in Spanish cuisine, a dish of saffron-flavoured rice cooked with meats, seafood, and vegetables. Originating in the rice-growing areas on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the dish is especially associated with the region of Valencia. Paella takes its name from the paellera, the utensil in which it is cooked, a flat round pan with two handles; paella is traditionally eaten from the pan.
To prepare paella, pieces of meats such as chicken, pork, or rabbit and seafood such as clams, shrimps, mussels, crayfish, and squid are sauteed in olive oil with onions, garlic, and herbs and removed from the pan. Rice, tomatoes, saffron, and stock are simmered together, the meats and seafood mixed in, and the dish is garnished with peas, pimientos, and other vegetables. Traditional paellas are made out of doors over a wood fire.