Paella Party

Cooking a Spanish paella outdoors in February may seem like an odd thing to do but in the "Altiplano" February usually sees some pleasantly warm days. It is always frosty in the mornings high up in the mountains but when the sun retires the temperature drops quite dramatically! There is however a good four hour window in which you can cook and enjoy what could be a summers day - any excuse for a fiesta!

Pablo is a neighbour of ours who has a cave house just a few hundred yards away, he is also a chef by trade and has an uncanny enthusiasm for Spanish food. Originaly from Asturias there is a degree of French and Catalan influence in his dishes however when it comes to paella the flavour is always spot on.

The party started early Saturday afternoon with the usual pre paella tapas, this time it was crab and a delicious sobrasada both served on biscuits. The barbeque was lit using sticks from the nearby wood and we had brought some fresh stock having had a chicken the evening before (good stock is the foundation of any good paella). The choice was mixed meat, a selection of chicken pieces, rabbit and pork. In true style most of the meat was still on the bone, all of which adds to flavour of the paella.

An hour later the paella was ready and placed center of the table to rest for a few minutes. The verdict..? Delicious!

Recipe below:

Ingredients: (Mixed meat paella to serve 8)

1 small chicken, chopped into small pieces
1 rabbit chopped into small pieces
450g pork ribs, cut into small pieces
5 ripe tomates
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
1 kilo bomba rice
2 litres chicken stock
pinch saffron
salt and pepper
olive oil
lemon wedges to serve

How to Cook:

1. Prepare the vegetables and chop into small pieces, crush the garlic

2. Heat the olive oil in the paella pan and add the meat, cook over a gentle flame to brown all over about 25 minutes

3. Meanwhile sautee the vegetables in a seerate pan and then cook on a low heat to soften and reduce, about 20 minutes

4. Add the softened vegetables to the meat and cook for about 5 minutes.

5. Pour the stock in a pan over a high heat to warm up.

6. Add the rice one cupfull at atime, for bobma rice you need 2.5 times the stock as the rice.

7. Add the saffron (crushed and blended with a little stock first)

8. Slowly add the stock and then season (rice needs quite a bit of salt)

9. Stir once and then increase the heat for a few minutes until the stock bubbles, leave to cook over a low flame for around 20 minutes - This paella was cooked outdoors using wood as fuel and Pablo did a great job regulating the heat, adding small sticks to increase the heat when necessary.

10. When the rice is cooked add the lemon wedges and then remove the paella from the heat, cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes or so to allow the rice to absorb the rest of the stock.

11. Serve and enjoy - as we did!

¡Buen provecho!


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Mussels in Cider

August is a good month for mussels, you get big juicy mussels which, when steamed make great seafood tapas or a starter. This recipe uses Asturian cider for steaming resulting in a unique flavour, something a little different to white wine and just as tasty!

Ingredients: (Makes 8 starter servings)

3-4 Kilos fresh mussels
400ml Asturian cider
1 Onion (diced)
2 Bay leaves
Cracked black pepper



Steaming:

1. Prep up your fresh mussels by removing the beards and scraping the shells if required.

2. Place the mussels in a large pan or Spanish Olla and put on a high heat, steam for 6 – 8 minutes until opened. (If you do not have a large enough pan simply steam the mussels in two lots.)

3. Meanwhile, put your diced onion, bay leaves, pepper and cider into a cazuela and reduce by around half over a high heat.

4. Pour in any remaining juices from the steamed mussel and stir.

5. Place the mussels into a large bowl/cazuela and pour over the cider sauce.

6. Serve in bowls and keep the crusty bread handy!




FIESTA! You can't beat a bit of Spanish guitar after a good meal!

The 12 Grapes

The Spanish tradition of the 12 grapes or "Las doce uvas" on New Years Eve is something you have to see to believe. Different countries have various ways of bringing in the new year but this age old tradition is very funny, there are some who take the 12 grapes very seriously as it it said that each grape brings good luck for the forthcoming year.

Some though don't take it seriously at all... Here are a couple of lads from Orce village at the family New Years Eve party. Remember its one grape per chime...



Have a great New Years Eve and we wish you a prosperous 2009

See you then!

Catalan Rabbit

Catalan rabbit or "Conejo con San Feina". This recipe is 4 generations old that we know of and the first time we got involved making it with some Spanish friends. Even the local vultures overhead seemed to be interested...



Feeds a whole "barrio" or a lot of friends and neighbours!

Ingredients: (serves 12)

4 medium onions
4 medium aubergines
4 medium red peppers
6 medium green peppers
400g pumpkin
12 ripe tomatoes
2 bulbs of garlic
2 rabbits (cut into pieces)
Large glass of Brandy
Salt and pepper
8 tablespoons of Olive oil



How to cook:

1.Prepare the vegetables in advance, better the day before as it can take some time. All of the vegetables except the garlic need to be chopped/diced as finely as possible. When the vegetables are chopped, set aside in containers until ready to be cooked.

2.Separate the garlic into individual cloves (or teeth as the Spanish say), remove the excess outer layers but do not peel.

3.Heat the oil in a large paella pan and add the garlic. Cook gently for 5-6 minutes or so then add the rabbit pieces. Cook the rabbit slowly for 10 minutes until lightly golden, add the brandy, cover and continue coking for a further 20 minutes very slowly until cooked through. Remove and set aside.

4.Heat a little more olive oil in the pan, add the onion and cook, stirring until translucent. Add the aubergines and peppers and cook for 10-12 minutes or so then add the pumpkin and the tomatoes. Cook very slowly for about an hour, stirring occasionally until everything has reduced and you have a rich sauce.

5.Return the rabbit and garlic to the pan stirring well to cover the meat with the vegetable sauce. Season to taste, cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes until the rabbit has taken on the flavours of the sauce.

6.Serve with lots of fresh bread.



Fabulous dish and a real opportunity for a get together given the prep time. Best cooked in a paella pan either over the open fire/BBQ or on an outdoor gas burner.

Adios Amigo's

Its always very strange at the end of August when almost overnight everyone who has come from all over Spain for their holidays return home. The fiestas in the village come to an end and September looms taking us into the Autumn.



As usual and in fine style our neighbours held one big fiesta in their cave for the locals and as is what happens every year we prepare a little something just for them the day before they leave. This time Gayle (as always) excelled in the kitchen by preparing an enormous lasagne. Tapas consisted of foie gras with a muscadet white wine and pequillo peppers with pitted olives.


A good night was had by all, looking forward to the next time in the winter where it will be card games, cognac. and what our neighbours call "the hell" - our woodburner which kicks out quite a bit of heat!



Coming in September:

A Catalan recipe from Barcelona to feed an army
A very red paella from Seville
A mountain of tapas
...and Sangria.

To finish, a slide show of tapas dishes. What a great August it has been.

Simple Tomato Salad

August in Andalucia in fiesta time! Orce village is no exception with the first two weeks of the month jam packed with all kinds of events - many are geared towards the children with recently released films being shown on a big screen within the castle grounds and many other types of parties.



Orce village is also home to many cave dwellings which are rented out for the holiday season, with so many people you certainly know its holiday time! With this you get your typical "street scene" with tables and chairs spilling out onto the roads. Tapas are served with cold beers and the atmosphere becomes more and more lively towards evening time..



One typical dish served up in the sunshine is tomato and pepper salad:

Ingredients:

8-10 vine tomatoes
1 jar pequillo peppers
Extra virgin olive oil
Alioli (garlic mayonnaise)
Chives
Queen olives

A very simple salad but with a twist - after arranging the tomatoes on the outside of the dish with the peppers in the middle add some olive oil to the alioli and thin the mayonnaise down so it becomes a dressing. Add the olives and sprinkle with chives.

A fresh local salad to serve around 6 persons.

Paella Fiesta!

There is nothing like a Spanish paella for entertaining guests! The paella is a very good alternative to the traditional barbeque and much more filling.

Here we have (in Spanish) a traditional paella being made... music's not too bad either! Recipes below..



Homemade seafood paella (stage by stage photos)

Homemade serrano ham paella

Homemade rabbit & pork paella (made and photographed outdoors)

More to follow...