Category: Food

Wines to go with this Spanish dish

My wife and I gather monthly for “wine dinners” with friends. As one would expect, the recurring event has a history that evolved over time. It began well before the pandemic hit when Tek Nique held monthly dinners, pairing selected wines with a five-course dinner. It was a great opportunity to learn about a line of wines and how the chef interpreted the wines, pairing them with exquisite American gourmet cuisine. The restaurant closed and the pandemic turned the world on end, but the camaraderie of the group remained strong. During the pandemic, there were any number of Zoom sessions with wine distributors selecting wines the group tasted and then critiqued over the joint Zoom meeting. During the months with fair weather, we gathered for “patio parties” with themes selected by the hosts. This month, we will host the group. We will serve La Paella.

Paella is one of the first things that comes to mind in Spanish cuisine. Its origins lie along the Mediterranean coast in Valencia and Catalonia. Paella is all about the rice — it must be a short-grain rice, high in starch. The best rice to use is bomba if you can find it; I use arborio, a close second. Next in importance is the pan. Paella must be cooked over high heat, uncovered, in a shallow pan. The ingredients in a paella can be a multitude, but the key ingredient is the sofrito, a sauté of vegetables, including onion, garlic, sometimes peppers, but always tomatoes. Olive oil, pimentón, and that element that defines paella, saffron! Beyond that, paella can be vegetarian, Valenciana (seafood and beans instead of rice), or my favorite, a mixed poultry and seafood paella.

What kind of wine do you pair with such rich and varied flavors, with the minerality that saffron imparts? First, I am a strong believer in cooking with wine, and it need not necessarily be added to the food! There are many wonderful cavas produced in northern Spain.

Segura Viudas Cava Brut (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets for $14.99, reduced to $12.99) has a wonderful light, almost transparent color of straw. The vineyard has made history for 800 years and is one of the most awarded brands in wine and cava tasting, nationally and internationally. Made from 50 percent macabeo, 30 percent xarel-lo and 20 percent parellacia grapes, the wine has an elegant and persistent nose of tiny bubbles, delivering an aroma of dried white peaches, citrus, a bit of honey, and floral notes. It has a long, dry finish, luring you on to sip more and more while you prepare your sofrito.

For those who want something “light and bright” I suggest two whites. The Duquesa de Valladoid Rueda (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets for $16.99, reduced to $14.99) has a pale straw color, with slight green hues. On the nose there are herbal aromas with hints of citrus flowers and minerality. Fresh and crisp on the palate, it features the acidity characteristic of the verdejo grape. It is akin to sauvignon blanc, but better. The other comes in a very colorful bottle: The Bodegas Langa Pi (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets for $21.99) comes from Aragón. This wine is made from garnacha blanc grapes, a new varietal to me! It has notes of citrus, pear and honey. It is exceedingly dry with intense flavor and a long finish.

Rounding out our wine pairings are two reds. Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets for $19.99, reduced to $17.99) is made from 100 percent garnacha grapes. It has an intense red color, with a slight purple rim. To the nose the fruit is ripe, with slight floral notes. To the tongue blackberry and plum predominate. Marques de Murrieta Reserva 2015 Rioja (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets for $31.99, reduced to $28.99) is a blend of 80 percent tempranillo, 12 percent graciano, 6 percent mazuello and 2 percent garnacha. This is a truly elegant wine, aged for 18 months in oak, obtaining high marks from Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. These reds are light and will not overpower the seafood and poultry in the paella but will work well with the minerality of the saffron.

Experiment! Expand your boundaries. Don’t be intimidated! Prepare a paella and try some wonderful Spanish wines. You will be glad you did!

Featured photo. Courtesy photo.

It’s been a long, cold, and lonely winter.

Let’s say, hypothetically, that you are a teacher. You’ve finally broken down your classroom, covered all your bookcases with paper and answered the last of the emails from angry parents. Or, hypothetically, you’ve just pulled your last shift for the week at the convenience store, waiting on increasingly angry customers, who have never learned to say “Please” or “Good morning” and want to know why you, personally, have raised the price of gas.

Or, hypothetically, you’ve wrapped up another week at the DMV where—

You know what? Let’s just stipulate that you are feeling worn out and a little bit battered, emotionally, and now you’ve got a few precious hours to yourself to sit on the deck, or wallow around in an inflatable pool, and get your Cool back.

Because you are cool. You have distinct memories of being cool, sometime in the distant past. “You’re so cool!” somebody told you once. Or you think they did. Or was that a movie? It might be Samuel L. Jackson or Helen Mirren you are thinking of.

Anyway, you know that there is some cool floating around somewhere and you’re pretty sure you can absorb it, if you can just unclench your shoulders and let it soak into you.

Here’s an unsolicited suggestion of how to do that.

Step 1 – Music

Put on “Take 5” by Dave Brubeck or “A Taste of Honey” by Herb Alpert.

I know — this isn’t your usual music; it’s something you imagine some old, not-cool person would listen to. Trust me on this. You can listen to your regular country or heavy metal or Mongolian opera later. For now you need this very specific type of jazz. Remember that shoulder-unclenching we talked about before? This will help you do it.

Step 2 – Take Your Shoes Off

Do it. Even if you’ve been wearing sandals all day, sitting in bare feet will send a message to your clenching parts.

Step 3 – Drink This (It’s a Process)

Take Five

Ingredients

• 2 ounces mango-infused rum (see below)
• 1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ¾ ounce rhubarb syrup (see below)
• 1 bottle or can of your favorite seltzer — I like Topo Chico

Combine the rum, lemon juice and syrup in a cocktail shaker, and shake over ice.

Pour into a tall Collins glass. Top with seltzer.

This will be sweet and tart and definitely like something somebody cool would drink, except—

Maybe? Maybe, it’s a little too sweet and boozy?

Take another sip to be sure.

Yup, just a little too concentrated. But, hey! Look at that! There’s an inch or so of room at the top of the glass now, for more seltzer. Top it off again.

Now, it’s perfect. **Sip, sip**

Oh — and look! There’s a little more room in the glass; better top it off again.

Still perfect. Slightly different, but absolutely delightful. **Sip, sip**

And again.

Eventually, you’ll run out of seltzer, which would be a really good excuse to make a second drink.

This time, try listening to Louis Armstrong sing, “Just One of Those Things.” Trust me.

Mango-Infused Rum

Combine 4 cups of white rum with 5 ounces or so of dried mango in your blender. Blend it to a rough-smoothie consistency.

Let the mixture steep for an hour or so, then strain it through a fine-meshed strainer and bottle. The mango will hold onto a fair amount of the rum, but you will be left with a beautiful, apricot-colored alcohol that will look really good in your liquor cabinet and taste like reggae music.

Rhubarb Syrup

Combine an equal amount, by weight, of frozen diced rhubarb and white sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb gives up its juice and the syrup mixture comes to a boil.

Remove from the heat, cover, and allow it to steep for one hour.

Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, pressing on the rhubarb to encourage any additional liquid to drain out.

Bottle the syrup, and keep it in your refrigerator. Add the juice of one lemon to the rhubarb, and eat it on ice cream.

Featured photo. Photo by John Fladd.