This article is part one of a three part series on “How to Prepare & Cook a Traditional Mallorcan Slow Food Paella."
What is the Fira de L’Arròs Sa Pobla?
This week we take you to the “Fira de L’Arros” in Sa Pobla, Mallorca, a big rice festival that happens every year in the last weekend of November. “Fira de L’ Arros” simply means “Festival of Rice”. This is actually a very exciting event, especially if you are someone that is interested in learning about the local food of Mallorca and why the island’s rice is special.
Also, it is more than just a farmers market. It is more like an agricultural and livestock fair with music, artisans’ goods, farming machinery demonstrations and a variety of activities and events for children. Visit the Fires i Festes de Mallorca for the full schedule. The page will be in Catalan but even with or without your Google Translator you will get the jist of the schedule and events.
Why do we go to the Fira de L’Arròs?
We visit this particular fair for the special Mallorcan “Bomba” rice which we put into our paella. The taste and texture of the rice in a paella is important and we know the rice at this festival could very well be one of the best.
All the restaurants of Sa Pobla will be at the Fira de L’ Arros to showcase their dishes with this popular rice. Equally important, the rice is cultivated and harvested on the island which fits into the slow food philosophy that promotes flavorful, healthy and sustainable, traditional cuisine.
We strictly adhere to the three main principles of slow food.
"Good. Clean. Fair."
We deal directly with the local farmers and we are excited to use these rices to cook with our seafood paella. This year we want to find one special for next season.
Some Interesting Facts about the ‘Bomba” Mallorcan Rice
Each year the farmers harvest 60 Tonnes of this special rice just in Sa Pobla!
Mallorca’s micro climate also makes it one of the best places to cultivate and grow rice. The albufera , which is a wetland in Alcudia Bay near Sa Pobla, helps create a perfect condition for growing rice.
Because bomba rice uses a lot of more stock to cook it, it absorbs a lot of flavor from the seafood broth, more than standard rices.
Also, we discovered another unique characteristic of this special rice.
You can’t overcook it! - well, you can if you really try
Stay tuned for “How to Prepare & Cook a Traditional Mallorcan Slow Food Paella.- Part 2” when we take you to the seafood markets in Mallorca to find the best seafood for our paella.
Saludos,
Manu & Janko