Paella is a delicious rice based dish named for the pan used to create the meal. A paella pan is overly wide to provide a large surface area for cooking but not necessarily very deep. The roots of paella are indisputably from Spain, particularly Valencia, and though food history is difficult to verify, it seems this dish does have variations to include different proteins such as beef or chicken as well as seafood but always, always, always, rice. Another defining element of the dish is the rice is not stirred to allow it to develop a crisp crust rather than the constant stirring and creaminess associated with other rice dishes like risotto.