It’s Fiesta time again, opening with the super-busy Christchurch Food Festival on 12th and 13th May. As the new paella kid on the block, we have been pitched on the corner of an alleyway, or rather the loading bay opposite ‘Marks & Spencers’, along with the staged entertainments and some other cool stands. So don’t miss us by sticking to the High Street alone, look us up, we’ll keep the Spanish flags flying high for you! Sangria, wine and soft drinks will be on offer as well as some Spanish retail goods that we can fit on the stand.

This year Idelica is catering at lots of local food festivals and events with the most delicious Chicken and Chorizo Paella most people have ever tasted (or so they say to us!). We use my tried-and-tested Spanish family recipe, we are generous and well-balanced with all the wholesome, natural and authentic ingredients that we source and we provide good-sized, nourishing portions from our massive 115cm pan. And we are a very cheerful little bunch who take real pleasure in serving you. What more could you ask for in fresh street food for a fiver!?

Idelica will be holding stands at the following events in 2012, keep posted of full details on facebook, twitter, or by subscribing to my newsletter on my homepage.

Christchurch Food Festival 12, 13 May

Kingston Maurward Country Fair 17 June

Med Fest at West Dean College Gardens 23, 24 June

Bovington Tankfest 10 Year Anniversary 30 June, 1 July

Pyewell Park Food & Lifestyle Festival 21, 22 July

Chilli Fiesta at West Dean College Gardens 27, 28, 29 July

Dorset Chilli Festival at Wimborne St Giles 5, 6 August

Codford Food Festival 11-August

Wessex Food Festival 15, 16 September

Wimborne Food Festival 27, 28 October

Kingston Maurward Christmas Gourmet Fair 10, 11 November

We stock these in two sizes, 10cm and 15cm. Buy them individually, or save more than 10% when you buy them in sets of four.

I’ve scoured the internet for recipes and the one I’ve linked to below seems to most closely resemble the best I’ve had. This would be a Tapas Bar at the top of the High Street in Almeria, owned by the same man for at least 30 years whose only English was to say he married ‘a lady from Brighton’ (but we never saw hide nor hair of her).

Lots of people, including Jamie Oliver, put mayonnaise in their sauce, which gives it a palatable tangy creamy texture but interferes with the bitterness and heat of the paprika and the sweetness of the tomatoes so I would steer clear. And personally, I would go to the trouble of making big fluffy roasties rather than little fried potatoes: less calories and more absorbency for the sauce. But, it’s all good – enjoy, and let me know how it goes.

Patatas Bravas Recipe

If you want to see my products ‘in the flesh’ or discuss a bespoke paella gift set or hamper in person, a good way to do this is to pop to one of my few appearances at local Christmas fayres and markets. I will be holding stands at the following:

The Wartime Christmas Festival & Craft Fayre, Bovington, Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th December

Hotel du Vin Poole Christmas Market, Pool Quay, Saturday 10th December

Crown Hotel Christmas Exhibition, Yuletides Festival, Blandford, Wednesday 14th December (evening)

Poppy Mae Cafe, Westbourne, Saturday 17th December (morning)

And don’t forget that Idelica has a permanent display of items for sale at The Dorset Smokery, Hurn. They are having Open Days on the 19th & 20th November and the 17th & 18th December.

For Stratta’s sweet fruit vinegars, soft fruits are steeped in white wine vinegar to extract the full flavour and colour. The resultant vibrant liquid is filtered and sweetened with organic cane sugar before being bottled at high temperature. A whopping 60g of fruit is used to make each 100ml of  infusion.

Choose the ‘Fig Infused Vinegar‘, ever so naturally sweet, light and fruity, or the winner of the ‘Best Ambient Product 2011′ at the Great Taste Awards, the ‘Raspberry Infused Vinegar‘ which is perfectly balanced between sweet and sharp.

Choose from the fresh and herbaceous ‘Basil Infused‘, the sweet and zesty ‘Lemon Infused‘ or a special recipe of spices created especially for Idelica by Mary Stratta, which I call ‘Idelica’s Iberian Infused‘ Extra Virgin Olive Oil in 250ml bottles. The Iberian contains smoked paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme and cumin. It is deliciously flavoursome with spiciness but not too much heat.

If you have an electric, induction or AGA hob, you need the extra feature of a completely flat and heavier bottom to your pan, so that the heat disperses most effectively. These pans can, of course, also be used on gas and open flames, but if you have a gas hob or ring burner you may want to check out my Enamel Paella Pans for a larger range of lighter, less expensive pans.

Each pan has a traditional “dimpled” base to help the heat spread evenly & quickly. This feature is important because the paella rice should not be stirred during the simmering process but allowed to sit and gradually soak up the juices to preserve the separation of the grains and allow a light crispiness to form on the part of the paella that is in contact with the base.

Because of the way that the heat conducts through the pan, it is recommended that less density of ingredients are used in a induction paella pan than in a pan used on gas, hence the servings that the pan is ideal for are lower:

30cm Pan – about 2 servings – £22.99

34cm Pan – about 4 servings – £27.99

38cm Pan – about 6 servings – £34.99

If you hav received a pan with instructions in spanish only, you can download the English version here:

Garcima Pata Negra Pan Instructions (English Version)

These pans can be used on gas hobs and ring burners and on an open fire or barbeque. Each pan has a traditional “dimpled” base to help the heat spread evenly & quickly. This feature is important because the paella rice should not be stirred during the simmering process but allowed to sit and gradually soak up the juices to preserve the separation of the grains and allow a light crispiness to form on the part of the paella that is in contact with the base. The base of these paella pans is also slightly dished, which will allow for a more even spread of heat from open flames and also allows the oil to collect in the centre when first frying your ingredients. For this reason, only pans of up to 34cm can be used reasonably efficiently on induction hobs. For pans that are optimised to induction, electric and AGA hobs, see Induction Enamel Paella Pans.

30cm Pan – up to 4 servings – £12.99

34cm Pan – up to 6 servings – £15.99

38cm Pan – up to 8 servings – £18.99

42cm Pan – up to 10 servings – £21.99

46cm Pan – up to 12 servings – £26.99

60cm Pan – up to 20 servings – £49.99