July 2017

Paella Goodness
ala Ditto!
Paella is considered a diverse dish which can be adjusted to your whim and taste,
customary to Valencian tradition, the dish consists of Prawn, Calamares, Chicken
and Chorizo. Due to evolution of times, Paella nowadays can be customized
according to your wishes!
Text and Photo by #Villager Michelle Co-Huertas of UberliciousPH.com
VP/FOODIE
In the Philippines, you can find paella in buffet restaurants and mostly in
Spanish cuisine restaurants. The elite usually serve this during special
occasions and often included in their Sunday meal. Another season which you
can see paella abound would be during Christmas season.
Cooking paella requires patience and personal technique and to come up with
a rich taste that will surely catch everyone’s palate, cooking the dish with
passion is the secret (not anymore, haha) according to Ditto Lesaca, owner of
Ditto’s Paella.
He engaged us on a night of Paella goodness paired with Red wine and lots of
delicious insights of the dish. Ditto shared with us how he started the business
when he was still in his 20s mainly to cover for his beer money. He later on
realized that this can be a good food career to sustain his living and not just for
beer.
That night, we feasted on Ditto’s Paella Valenciana and Paella Negra. It is
noticeable that his version is overflowing with Prawns, Squid, Chicken meat,
Chorizo and sliced boiled eggs. He mentioned that he does not serve the
regular type where people are prone to fight each other out of the measly meat
portions.
Ditto also shared that he learned to cook from his mother Carmen “Mita”
Guidote Lesaca who learned to cook the dish from her late father Alfedo
Guidote. Per his family tradition, they cook their Paella over charcoal fire and
without shortcuts, this includes acquiring the ingredients fresh on the day that
the dish will be cook.
To date, Ditto’s Paella caters to Manila most influential families. During peak
season, he can prepare 28 big paellera in a day. Ditto can cater to as little as 2
people with a small paellera and his big Paellera can feed up to 40 people. ■
Common Types
of Paella:
You can also taste this exquisite Paella by order, and yes, they deliver! To order,
you may call 0918.96.DITTO (34886) or 0917.5191.777. Follow Ditto’s Pella on
Facebook: @paelladitto.
Paella Valenciana - Best
known type throughout Spain
and neighboring regions. This
dish is prepared with a tomato,
pepper, onion and garlic sofrito.
Authentic Valencians include
rabbit meat. Other countries
uses Chicken meat combined
with some seafood.
Seafood Paella - Also known as
paella marinera, it consists of
seafood such as squid, prawns,
mussels and clams.
Paella Negra –This type of paella
is infused with octopus or squid
ink and comes with the same
ingredients as seafood paella
TRAVEL•LIFESTYLE•ENTERTAINMENT
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