Paella mar i muntanya is Catalonia's sea-and-mountain paella: a Valencian-rooted rice cooked in a wide flat pan with both chicken and prawns, the canonical surf-and-turf.

Valencia invented the paella in the 18th century with rabbit, snails and green beans. Catalonia's coast brought the dish to Barcelona by the early 20th century with the sea-and-mountain twist: chicken from the hills, prawns from the harbour, the saffron-and-paprika sofrito a Catalan signature. 7 Portes in the Born has cooked the dish on the bone since 1836; Els Pescadors in Poblenou and Somorrostro on the seafront both run modernised versions. The technique is unchanged: short-grain bomba or calasparra rice, hot stock added in one shot, no stirring, 18 to 20 minutes uncovered, the bottom socarrat crust the goal.

3 editor picks for Paella mar i muntanya in Barcelona, ranked by editorial score. All Barcelona signature dishes · Paella mar i muntanya across every city.