Darina Allen: How to make Spanish paella, inspired by my trip to Valencia

Darina Allen gives us a taste of her Spanish getaway

In Spain, one can buy a gas ring specially for cooking paella for a picnic, how wonderful would that be?

Sat, 09 May, 2026 - 01:00

Darina Allen is co-founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School and more recently the Ballymaloe Organic Farm School in Shanagarry, East Cork.

I'm loving València, my very first visit. The main purpose of this particular trip is to visit the Todolí Citrus Foundation (more later), about an hour outside the city on Saturday next, but I’ve decided to add on a few days to explore València and the surrounding area.

What a city, one of the oldest in Spain, it was founded by the Romans in 138BC and has over 2,100 years of exciting history, heavily influenced by Islamic and Christian rule. The 15th century was the Golden Age, a period of intense economic and artistic splendour, the beautiful Silk Exchange dates back to then, Longa de la Seda — a must visit, as is the awe-inspiring futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.