The Great Walmsley Food Blog

Okay, so picture this, the sun is out, you're going to have a few people over for food and drinks, what is the perfect food for a garden party? Many would say a classic BBQ with burgers, hot dogs and beers. May I suggest something a little different, Paella and sangria!

I personally advise doing as much prep work as you can before people arrive, this includes dicing your sofrito, preparing your stock and cooking your fish so it just needs warming through for a few minutes in the paella. Then once your guests arrive you can cook your Paella and still socialice whilst it’s cooking, meanwhile having glasses of Sangria and maybe some bread and olives. This is sure to impress and is very easy to scale up or down. There are loads of great recipes online for cooking a fantastic Paella, but I do advise cooking it a few times yourself to get a feel for it before cooking for a large group.

What about getting the right equipment? Traditionally you would use a Paella pan and accompanying heating element as seen below. However, you can also just use a large frying pan and an outdoor camping stove, or even cook the dish indoors with a hob and serve outside when people have arrived.