The cultivation and consumption of pulses in the Mediterranean, as with cereals, take us back to the origins of farming. Because of their great nutritional value, high protein content - far greater than that of other plant products - their accessibility and excellent keeping qualities, they have generally been considered the poor man's meat.
The essential role played by pulses in the Mediterranean diet's peoples, to whom we are the gastronomic heirs, has left a deep mark on Spanish cuisine, where an enormous variety of soups and stews containing pulses are to be found in every corner of the country. The most popular are chickpeas, lentils and beans.
Paella is something of an icon for Spain, and is probably one of the most widely-imitated of Spanish dishes. The name comes from the characteristic pan in which it is cooked, with a large diameter and low sides. Today paella pans can be bought in Tokyo, Sydney, New York or any of the world's great capitals. But rice is used in a multitude of ways in Spain, not only in a paella pan.
Traditional rice dishes are made in the typical pucheros, or stewpots - the ones with high, round-sided walls normally used to make bean stews, and in cazuelas, or earthenware casseroles.
The essential role played by pulses in the Mediterranean diet's peoples, to whom we are the gastronomic heirs, has left a deep mark on Spanish cuisine, where an enormous variety of soups and stews containing pulses are to be found in every corner of the country. The most popular are chickpeas, lentils and beans.
Paella is something of an icon for Spain, and is probably one of the most widely-imitated of Spanish dishes. The name comes from the characteristic pan in which it is cooked, with a large diameter and low sides. Today paella pans can be bought in Tokyo, Sydney, New York or any of the world's great capitals. But rice is used in a multitude of ways in Spain, not only in a paella pan.
Traditional rice dishes are made in the typical pucheros, or stewpots - the ones with high, round-sided walls normally used to make bean stews, and in cazuelas, or earthenware casseroles.
