Is this Spain's most authentic paella?
这是最正宗地道的西班牙海鲜饭吗？

Walking along the vast sweep of Valencia’s Malvarrosa beachfront as the waves lapped the shore, I came to the first in a long line of restaurants, the light and airy La Pepica. I’d arrived just before lunch service and the chefs were lighting up the wood-fuelled stoves and pulling down the heavy carbon steel pans as part of their daily hour-long prep. Between walls of decorative blue-and-white tiles, huge bowls of chopped chicken, rabbit, snails and beans stood on the counters, ready to become part of Spain’s most famous dish: paella valenciana.

沿着西班牙瓦伦西亚（Valencia）漫长的玛尔瓦罗萨（Malvarrosa）海滩，看着浪花拍打着海岸，一长排望不到头的餐馆，我进到了第一家。这是光线明朗而又通风的佩皮卡餐厅（La Pepica）。我到达之时，午膳服务刚要开始，厨师们点燃柴火炉灶，取下沉重的碳钢锅盘，这是他们每天一小时准备时间的部分作业。在餐厅的蓝白瓷砖墙身之间是一个又一个柜台，摆放着大碗大碗切碎的鸡肉，兔子，蜗牛和豆子，这是将烹调西班牙最著名的瓦伦西亚海鲜饭（paella valenciana）的食材。

Today, paella is served at every Spanish restaurant from London to Los Angeles, but this ancient rice dish originated in the fields and lagoons around Valencia. And if you speak to any local about paella here, they will inevitably mention La Pepica, which has not only become synonymous with paella but an emblem of Valencia itself. La Pepica is one of the oldest restaurants in Valencia, and for the last 121 years, this seaside staple has set the bar for many of the city’s best paella restaurants. It has invented two new types of paella, which restaurants across Spain and the rest of the world now replicate; and a series of visits in 1959 inspired writer Ernest Hemingway to wax lyrical about the place, helping to popularise paella around the world.

今天，从伦敦到洛杉矶，全球的西班牙餐厅都供应海鲜饭，而这道古老的米饭美食正正起源于瓦伦西亚附近的田野和泻湖。如果你在这里和当地人谈论海鲜饭，他们肯定会提到佩皮卡餐厅，因为这家餐厅不仅是海鲜饭的同义词，还是瓦伦西亚的象征。佩皮卡是巴伦西亚最古老的餐厅之一。在过去的121年里，玛尔瓦罗萨海滩这家餐厅的招牌菜为许多城市最好的海鲜饭餐厅设置了标准。佩皮卡发明了两种新款的海鲜饭，现在西班牙和世界各地的餐馆都将这两款海鲜饭列入其餐单。美国作家海明威（Ernest Hemingway）1959年的多次到访，激发出他对这家餐厅诗意的描述，也使得西班牙海鲜饭为之名闻全球。
Chef Honorino Antón and his team soon got to work. First, the chefs added meat or seafood to hot olive oil. In some pans, chicken and rabbit sizzled, while in others, pink prawns danced and spat. One chef was in charge of preparing the sofrito – an essential part of any paella dish, consisting of sautéed tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil. Clouds of paprika and steam began to fill the air, and Honorino sprinkled in saffron threads, changing the colour of the ingredients to an intense yellow. The very last ingredient is the most important: the rice, which the cooks poured in a cross-like motion, allowing for an even spread on the bottom of the pan as it the grains fell between the other ingredients.

厨师荷诺瑞诺·安东（Honorino Anton）和他的团队迅即开始烹调。首先，他们把肉或海鲜加到热橄榄油里热炒。有的锅炒的是鸡和兔子，正嘶嘶作响。有的锅炒的是虾，粉红色的虾在油中翻滚和发出嘶嘶声。一位厨师负责烹制称为索弗里托（sofrito）的香炒拌料，这是任何一道海鲜饭的基本组成部分，包括炒西红柿、洋葱、大蒜和橄榄油。空中弥漫着蒸汽混合辣椒粉的味道，荷诺瑞诺·安东往锅里撒几丝藏红花，把配料染成了深黄色。最后一种也是最重要的食材为大米。厨师把大米倒入锅中反复翻炒，使炒熟的米饭与配料均匀混合，最后平摊于锅底。

“To ensure a paella is authentic, the ingredients must be fresh and the paella must be made to order,” explained Gustavo Sierra, chef and La Pepica’s manager. “It’s important that the rice is just cooked, not underdone and not over. It must still have a slight chew, as the Italians say, ‘al dente’. It’s also essential that the rice is loose and hasn’t stuck together, thus maintaining its texture and shine.”

佩皮卡餐厅的主厨兼经理古斯塔沃·塞拉（Gustavo Sierra）解释说：“为了确保海鲜饭正宗地道，食材必须很新鲜，每一锅海鲜饭必须现点现做。重要的是米饭要煮得恰恰好，不要半生不熟，也不要煮过度。就像意大利人说的‘al dente’，必须软硬适中，有轻微的咀嚼感。还有一点很重要，那就是米饭要松，不能粘在一起，这样才能保持每粒米饭的质感和光泽。”

尽管西班牙海鲜饭通常会有海鲜，但传统的瓦伦西亚海鲜饭是用肉类、米饭、蜗牛和豆子烹制
Most Valencians would agree, and would also add that there should be no more than un ditet (“a finger width” in Catalan) of rice covering the bottom of the pan. This ensures that the rice cooks evenly and that the stock can reach the base, creating a kind of caramelised, almost burnt layer of crunchy rice on the bottom. This is, in fact, one of the tastiest parts of the paella and even has a special name: socarrat (from the Spanish verb, socarrar, meaning “to singe”). At La Pepica, the paella has plenty of socarrat due to the intense heat induced at the end of the cooking process, making a crackling sound and slightly charring the rice. It’s also especially flavourful because of the paella pans, which have been in use for many years.

大多数瓦伦西亚人都会同意塞拉之说，还会补充道，平铺在锅底的米饭厚度不能超过un ditet（加泰罗尼亚语指“一个手指”）。这样可以保证米饭煮得均匀，汤汁也能到达锅底，在锅底形成一层焦糖化的松脆锅巴。而这也是西班牙海鲜饭中其中最美味的一部分，被称为socarrat。此词在西班牙语中是“烤焦”之意。佩皮卡餐厅的海鲜饭有大量的香脆饭锅巴，是因为在烹调尾段火力加大，米饭发生爆裂声并轻微烧焦。这个餐厅的海鲜饭特别美味，也与使用特制的海鲜饭锅有关。该餐厅使用这种饭锅已经很多年。

La Pepica opened in 1898, when King Alfonso XIII granted Francisco Balaguer, along with 44 others, permission to set up small restaurants in the wooden barracks next to the beach – these were some of the first to serve paella in the city. After a large storm destroyed the barracks in 1924, the current restaurant was built. Like Valencia’s early farmers who cooked rice- and meat-based dishes, the chefs at La Pepica always cooked in open kitchens on wood-fired ovens. Over the decades, this style inspired other restaurants in Valencia to follow suit, and helped to establish how an authentic paella should be prepared.

佩皮卡餐厅于1898年开业，老板是弗朗西斯科·巴拉奎尔（Francisco Balaguer）。当时的西班牙国王阿方索十三世（King Alfonso XIII）准许巴拉奎尔和其他44人在玛尔瓦罗萨海滩旁的木屋里开小餐馆做生意。这就是瓦伦西亚市最早供应海鲜饭的部分餐厅。1924年一场大风暴摧毁了这排小屋后，佩皮卡餐厅重建，即现今我们看到的样子。就像以米和肉为主烹饪菜肴的瓦伦西亚早期农民一样，佩皮卡餐厅的厨师们一直在开放式厨房中使用柴火炉子。在几十年的时间，这种烹调风格被瓦伦西亚的其他餐馆纷纷效仿，从而建立了如何烹调正宗海鲜饭的标准模式。

Today, La Pepica is run by Balaguer’s grandson, Pepe, who has stayed true to the family’s time-honoured way of cooking paellas, using the exact same recipes as his grandfather and cooking them over wood-fired ovens in an open kitchen. “This is the tradition of the house,” said Pepe. “There is something special about live fire. It can’t be explained, but there’s nothing better than a paella cooked over a wood fire. It gives the rice a different aroma and taste.”

今天，佩皮卡餐厅由巴拉奎尔的孙子佩普（Pepe）经营。佩普一直坚守着由来已久的家传做法，用与祖父完全相同的食谱烹制，并在开放式厨房的柴火炉上煮海鲜饭。佩普说：“这是我们家族的传统。木柴明火有其特殊之处。这只能意会，无法言传，但确实在柴火上煮的海鲜饭是最美味的，这让米饭有一种独特的饭香和味道。”

While La Pepica has stayed true to its roots, most of Valencia’s restaurants now prepare their paellas on gas or sometimes electric stoves.

虽然佩皮卡餐厅一直坚守其家族的传统，但瓦伦西亚的大多数餐厅现在都改用燃气或电炉。

“There are many places here [that] serve excellent paellas, but La Pepica remains one of the most traditional and popular places to eat it,” said Carolina Miñana, a chef and teacher at the Valencian School of Rice and Paella, which is dedicated to spreading the origins and importance of the dish and teaching students the correct way of cooking it. “This is firstly because of its history, and secondly because of its location on Malvarrosa Beach.”

瓦伦西亚海鲜饭学校（Valencian School of Rice and Paella）的厨师和教师凯瑞琳娜‧米尼亚娜（Carolina Miñana）说：“本市有许多餐厅都能供应美味的海鲜饭，但要说最传统最受欢迎的，佩皮卡仍是其中之一。首先是因为佩皮卡的历史悠久，其次是因为正位于玛尔瓦罗莎海滩。”米尼亚娜的学校致力于宣传西班牙海鲜饭的起源和重要性，并传授学生正确烹煮海鲜饭的方法。

Today, many people around the world associate paella with ingredients like mussels and shrimp, and the most common type of paella is the paella de mariscos (seafood paella). Even in Spain, paella is most often eaten with large family groups at the beach. In fact, in Valencia, some of the best and most authentic paella restaurants can be found just a few steps from La Pepica by the sea, such as La Marcelina, L'Estimat and Casa Navarro. However, the original paella, the so-called paella valenciana, does not contain any seafood at all, but is instead made with rabbit, chicken, snails and beans.

今天，全世界上很多人一说起西班牙海鲜饭，就一定联想起加在米饭中的贻贝和虾等海鲜食材，最常见的海鲜饭名叫马瑞科斯海鲜饭（paella de mariscos），即有海鲜的肉菜饭之意。在西班牙，这经常是一大家子人在海滩餐厅最爱吃的一款海鲜饭。事实上，在瓦伦西亚，一些最好的和最正宗的海鲜饭餐厅就是在离佩皮卡餐厅只有几步距离的海边，比如La Marcelina, L'estimat和Casa Navarro。然而，最初的西班牙海鲜饭，也就是所谓的瓦伦西亚海鲜饭，只是一种肉菜饭，根本没有任何海鲜，而是用兔子、鸡肉、蜗牛和豆子烹制而成。

“It was the rice farmers who actually created the first paellas, adding animals and ingredients that they would normally have raised at home or had to hand in the fields,” Miñana explained.

米尼亚娜解释说：“实际上是瓦伦西亚种植稻米的农民发明了第一款海鲜饭，他们在米饭中加入动物肉和其他食材，总之都是他们在家里饲养的，或者他们在田地里栽种的。”

Historians differ on the exact origin of paella; however, when the Moors conquered Spain around 711AD, they began growing rice in the country. During the week, people would eat rice on its own because it was cheap, and at the weekends, they would eat it alongside a meat or fish stew. Over the years, the stew evolved and people loved its versatility, and the way in which they could add seasonal produce to the dish.

历史学家对西班牙海鲜饭的确切起源可谓众说纷纭，不过大致来龙去脉是这样的：公元711年左右被称为摩尔人的穆斯林征服西班牙后，将稻米种植传入西班牙。当地农民在工作日，会以米饭果腹，因为米饭很便宜，而在周末，他们就将米饭和肉或鱼一起炖煮享用。多年以来，这种菜肉烩饭也不断演变，人们喜欢这种食物的简便适用性，也喜欢其可随意添加时令农产品的方式。

The first recipes showing how to cook these rice dishes only appeared between 1750 and 1800, which describes the process less like a stew and more like the drier paella dishes eaten today. However, the word “paella” does not appear anywhere until around 1900, when it was mentioned in an article. Before this, it was just referred to as simply “arroz valenciana” (“Valencian rice”) and was typically cooked at home during family gatherings.

最早的瓦伦西亚炖饭的食谱出现在1750年到1800年之间，其描述不太像炖菜饭，而比较像今天吃的干炒肉菜饭。然而，“海鲜饭”这个词直到1900年才出现，是一篇文章中提到这道菜。在此之前，只简单地称之为“瓦伦西亚炖饭”（Valencian rice），通常是家庭聚会时在家烹饪的家常菜。

Because of its seaside setting, open kitchens and flame-singed socarrat, La Pepica became known as the place to eat paella in Valencia in the early 20th Century. This was also thanks to the great Valencian painter Joaquin Sorolla, who dined there often. One time, the artist ordered the seafood paella and had trouble peeling the prawns and deshelling the shellfish. So back in the kitchen, Francisco’s wife, Josefa, made him a special paella with pre-peeled prawns and de-shelled shellfish, so he would be able to eat it more easily. Other restaurants soon started replicating the dish, and today, this widely popular paella variety is known throughout Spain as arroz del senyoret or arroz del señorito (“gentlemen’s rice”).

到20世纪初，由于位处人们休闲的海滨度假之地，加上惹眼的开放式厨房和炙烤得香脆可口的饭锅巴，佩皮卡遂成为瓦伦西亚著名的海鲜饭餐厅。而这还要归功于瓦伦西亚著名的大画家霍金·索罗亚（Joaquin Sorolla），他经常在这里用餐。有一次，这位大画家在佩皮卡点了海鲜肉菜饭，但剥虾和去壳都有困难。于是，在厨房后面的餐厅老板弗朗西斯科·巴拉奎尔的妻子约瑟法（Josefa）为他另做了一道特殊的海鲜饭，将饭中的虾子预先去皮，海贝也预先去壳，以方便大画家食用。很快，这道新款海鲜饭也被其他餐馆仿效。今天，这道海鲜饭广受欢迎，在西班牙各地称为“绅士海鲜饭”（arroz del senyoret 或 arroz del senorito）。

Years later, La Pepica invented a second type of paella: the paella de verduras (vegetable paella) in order to accommodate the former queen of Spain, Sofía, who dined at the restaurant and is said to be a vegetarian. The paella de verduras has since been adopted at Spanish restaurants all over the world, catering to the growing number of vegetarians and vegans.

数年后，佩皮卡餐厅又推出一种新款海鲜饭：蔬菜海鲜饭（paella de verduras），这是为迎合前来光顾的前西班牙王后索菲亚（Sofia）的口味，因索菲亚王后据说是位素食主义者。从那以后，世界各地的西班牙餐馆也有了这道素食海鲜饭，以满足越来越多的素食者和完全素食者的需求。

“What began as novelty, soon became a habit and then an important part of the food culture of our people,” explains Miñana. “It’s a dish associated with family gatherings and celebrations. Ultimately, paella is a dish that unites, hence its importance.”

米尼亚娜解释说：“海鲜饭开始是一道新奇的菜式，很快就变成了大家习惯的饮食，因而成为西班牙饮食文化的重要部分。这道菜是家庭聚会和节日庆会必有的美食。说到底，西班牙海鲜饭这道菜能凝聚群体，因此体现着重大的价值。”

At around 14:00, families from all over the city started gathering at La Pepica to eat paella for their Sunday lunch. The restaurant’s main entrance is at the front through the kitchens, while the back entrance faces the sea. So as guests arrive, they pass the chefs and can watch the theatrical dance of the paellas being made over the open flames while they wait. Today, several paellas are being made, from the traditional paella valenciana to the paella de mariscos, and even lobster paella and black rice made with squid ink.

午后两点钟左右，来自瓦伦西亚全市的许多家庭开始聚集在佩皮卡，享用他们周日午餐的海鲜饭。餐厅的主要入口在餐厅正面，食客要穿过厨房才能入内，而后门则面向大海。因此，食客到达后，会经过正忙碌着的厨师。他们在坐等食物上桌的时候，也可亲眼看到厨师在明火上烹制海鲜饭，如同观众看着台上的戏剧表演。今天，厨房煮着有好几种海鲜饭，有传统的瓦伦西亚肉菜饭，有常见的马瑞科斯海鲜饭，甚至还有龙虾海鲜饭和墨鱼汁黑米饭。

Waistcoat-clad waiters carried huge pans of paella out from the kitchens to a large family of hungry diners. It was the traditional valenciana one, made with La Pepica’s original recipe of rabbit, chicken, snails, olive oil, salt, rosemary, saffron, sweet paprika, tomato, garrofon and bachoqueta (Valencian white and green beans), and, of course, rice.

这时，穿着制服背心的服务员从厨房里端出几大锅海鲜饭给一家人数众多已饥肠辘辘的食客。他们点的是传统的瓦伦西亚肉菜饭，这道菜用的是佩皮卡的原始配方，有兔肉、鸡肉、蜗牛、橄榄油、盐、迷迭香、藏红花、甜红辣椒、番茄、咖喱粉，以及瓦伦西亚白豆和绿豆，当然还有米饭。

Today, celebrities from all over the world have followed in the footsteps of the former king and queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofía, as well as Sorolla and Hemingway. In fact, Hemingway used to hang out at La Pepica so often in 1959 that he’d occasionally help in the kitchens. He even wrote about the restaurant in his novel, The Dangerous Summer, stating: “Dinner at Pepica’s was wonderful… the seafood and the Valencian rice dishes were the best on the beach”, thus helping to popularise paella abroad, too.

今天，继西班牙前国王胡安·卡洛斯一世和王后索菲亚，以及大画家索罗亚和大作家海明威，世界各地的名人也慕名前来。在1959年，海明威经常在佩皮卡消磨时光，偶尔还会去厨房帮忙。他甚至在自己的小说《危险夏日》（Dangerous Summer）中描述了这家餐厅，“在佩皮卡餐厅用餐非常棒……海鲜和瓦伦西亚米饭是这里海滩上最棒的美食。”海明威的大作也帮助西班牙海鲜饭扬名海外。

I sat down at a table, ready to try La Pepica’s paella for myself. Like Queen Sofía, I am vegetarian, so I ordered the dish the restaurant’s chefs created for royalty, paella de verduras. It arrived still sizzling in the pan with the pungent smell of garlic wafting through the air. The dish was a riot of colour, studded with ruby red peppers, sage-coloured artichokes and wide, flat green beans, and topped with lemon wedges. I squeezed some lemon over the dish and took a large spoonful, straight from the pan. I could hear crackles as the spoon scraped the socarrat from the bottom. The rice was the perfect combination of soft and chewy, just as Sierra had described. I could taste the earthy, floral flavour of the saffron, followed by the sweet and slightly smoky paprika. With every bite came a new texture and flavour, the sweetness of the red pepper, the sourness of the lemon and a salty taste like the sea.

我在一张桌子旁坐下，准备尝尝佩皮卡的海鲜饭。和索菲亚王后一样，我也是素食主义者，所以我点了餐厅厨师专为西班牙王室创作的蔬菜海鲜饭。端上桌，锅子还在咝咝作响，空气中飘荡着刺鼻的大蒜味。这道菜色彩缤纷，点缀着红宝石色的红椒、灰绿色的朝鲜蓟和宽扁的青豆，上面是几瓣柠檬。我往饭锅中挤了一点柠檬汁，然后从锅里直接舀出一大勺米饭。我能听到勺子从锅底刮到锅巴时发出的噼啪声。如同主厨塞拉所描述的那样，这种米饭是鬆软和耐嚼的完美结合。我也能尝到藏红花的泥土味和花香，接着是甜甜的、微微冒气的红椒。每咬一口，都会有一种新的口感和味道。红椒之甜、柠檬之酸和大海的咸味，一时之间，全来到我口中。

As I sat devouring my paella, I thought about the way that Hemingway famously described the restaurant: “The place was run by a family and everyone knew everyone else. You could hear the sea breaking on the beach and the lights shone on the wet sand.”

我坐在海边，大口大口地吃着我的海鲜饭时，不禁想起了海明威名著对这家餐馆的描述：“这家餐馆由一个家族经营，人们彼此认识，都是熟人。坐在餐厅，你可以听到海水拍打沙滩的声音，餐厅的灯光则照在潮湿的沙滩上。”

More than a century later, it seems little has changed, and as I scraped the last crunch of socarrat from the pan, I understood why La Pepica’s signature dish was destined to become a household name.

一个多世纪的岁月逝去，佩皮卡风貌依旧。当我用勺子从锅里刮出最后一塊又香又脆的饭锅巴之时，我终于明白为什么佩皮卡的招牌海鲜饭注定要成为家喻户晓的名菜。


来源：好英语网