Narrator: Over 160 kilograms of meat, vegetables,
and rice go into this massive pan
to make one of the biggest paellas in Spain.
But this paella is just half
of what Vicente Martínez and his team
are making for Quesa, Valencia's, Festival of the Reserve.
At the end of the day,
these paellas will feed more than 1,000 people,
all for free.
But the size of this paella
isn't the only thing that's special.
It also has a unique ingredient
that makes this paella distinctly Valencian.
So, what does it take to make paella in such big batches?
Narrator: This is known as the Festival of the Reserve.
On the morning of the festival,
Vicente and his crew offload and wheel
two 2.35-meter paella pans into the town square.
When the pans are secure, they get to cooking.
Narrator: Each paella is cooked with
8.5 liters of olive oil,
75 kilos of chicken,
and 30 kilos of rabbit.
Narrator: When the meat is done,
40 kilos of frozen green beans, butter beans,
and white beans are added into the mix,
along with 5 kilos of snails.
Narrator: Once everything is mixed together,
135 liters of water are added into the pan.
Narrator: After the water has been added,
60 kilos of a local medium-grain rice
called arroz redondo is tossed into the mix.
Cooking with wood means that the water and fire
need to be constantly monitored
so that the rice doesn't burn.
Narrator: In Spain, bomba, albufera, and redondo rice
are commonly used because they can absorb
more liquid and flavor than regular rice
without getting mushy.
Narrator: Paella pans often come in several diameters,
but the general shape is always wide, shallow,
and round with sloping edges.
This shape is important
because it helps the rice cook evenly in a single layer.
Narrator: And many Spaniards agree.
Narrator: While everyone enjoys paella,
the exact ingredients for what constitutes
a true paella is still hotly debated.
Narrator: While the festival is full of joy
and celebration today,
the origins of its birth are much darker.
In 1690, Quesa experienced
a devastating outbreak of the bubonic plague,
which left only a few members of a single family alive.
Resilient, the surviving family gave shelter and food
to anyone who moved back to Quesa.
Narrator: Paella is thought to have come
from farm workers in Valencia
who used shallow pans to cook rice over wood fires
and added in ingredients they could forage or hunt
to create a cheap but filling one-dish lunch.
Over time, the elites of Spain
started to enjoy paella for weekday lunches,
and it became more popular across the country.
And while paella is now recognized
as a traditionally Spanish dish,
it wouldn't be what it is today
without the introduction of rice
by the Moors in the 12th century.
Since then, paella has taken on
many iterations across Spain,
but the classic ingredients of rice, rabbit, snails,
and beans remain integral for making a Valencian paella.