Mark your calendars for our outdoor paella cooking demo next Saturday August 20 at 12:30 p.m. We’ll set up a paella butano (3 legged-gas cooker) in front of the store and demonstrate how easy it is to cook a fantastic paella on it. We’ll also be pouring a white, rosé and red Spanish wine that pair wonderfully with paella. The cost is $10.00 per person which includes a small plate of the finished paella. (For guests under 21, or those not tasting wine, the cost is $7.50 each). Please register for the demo by replying to this email with the number of guests in your group, name and phone number, or you may call the shop with the information. Please arrive by 12:15 on August 20 to check-in and purchase tickets. We’ll be preparing a version of the paella recipe shown below.
We now carry authentic Tortilla Espanola (eggs, potatoes, and onions cooked in olive oil, similar to a frittata) made in Spain by the Palacios Company. Palacios also makes the best dry cured, natural chorizo on the planet and we’ve carried their chorizo for many years. The tortilla is 500 grams (17.6 oz) which serves 3-4 people; it comes frozen from Spain and must be cooked before eating. Enjoy it for breakfast or make a yummy sandwich with it (add the condiment of your choice such as alioli or romesco sauce). It also makes a quick and light dinner, especially when served with tossed fresh salad greens or roasted vegetables.
Finca Pascualete La Retorta cheese is back in stock. A raw sheeps-milk cheese from Spain made with a thistle rennet, it is a vegetarian cheese. With notes of pasture grass, it is salty, creamy, and incredibly flavorful, Slice the top off and eat the center with a spoon. A World’s Best Cheese award winner.
For a hedonistic cheese combination, serve La Retorta with 
Brillat Savarin Frais, a triple cream cow-milk cheese that is simply luscious. Now available in 200-gram individual wheels. Pick up a crusty baguette, a bottle of Bargemone rosé wine, these two cheeses and have a memorable meal!
BACK IN STOCK:
Colorante – used in paella, sometimes in place of saffron it gives a distinctive yellow color.
Picos -these tasty breadsticks are great snacks.
Torres potato chips in flavors: Plain, Foie Gras, Smoked Paprika, Herbs, Jamon Iberico.
WINE CORNER: These exquisite Cru Beaujolais from Domaine Anita are a reflection of terroir. Get some friends together, open these bottles and compare the differences between each village’s wine. All are 100% Gamay, produced sustainably.
Domaine Anita Morgon Château-Gaillard 2020 Beaujolais ($22.99) Made from 70-year-old-vines, aged in concrete for 6 months. It has developed into a robust wine with a deep color. Its expressive aromas of stone fruits, predominantly plum and cherry, are an introduction to a powerful, structured but velvety palate. “Big black fruits and a series of firm tannins set the scene for a wine that has both density and ripeness. Licorice flavors, acidity, spice and a juicy aftertaste are coming together in a wine that will age.” 92 points Wine EnthusIast
Domaine Anita Fleurie Poncie 2020 Beaujolais ($26.99) Poncie is a 45-year-old Lieu dit (single vineyard) located in the village of Fleurie, Vinification is 100% whole cluster, and undergoes carbonic maceration for 12 days. Aged 6 months in cement tanks. The deep cassis and violet nose lead you into a powerful and seriously tannic red for the Beaujolais context, but all of this fits together very neatly. There’s nothing overdone about the wine, but the finish is pretty imposing. “This firm, structured wine comes from one of the top vineyards in the appellation. It has density, with touches of dark coffee and ripe cherry flavors that need to develop. Drink from 2023.” 93 points Wine Enthusiast
Domaine Anita Fleurie Les Moriers 2020 Beaujolais ($25.99) From 6-year-old vines in the single vineyard Les Moriers, it undergoes 100% full cluster vinification with semi-carbonic maceration for 11 days, then ages in cement tanks for 6 months. Les Moriers has always been one of the most famous terroirs of Fleurie. Its granite soil yields a wine with floral and spicy aromas from its birth. On the palate, this cuvée develops tannins of incredible flavor and finesse. “On a mix of sand and granite soils, this vineyard has given a wine with structure and concentration. Acidity and spice contrast with each other, emphasizing the fresh edge and structure.” 92 points Wine Enthusiast
AMONTILLADO AND CHICKEN PAELLA WITH CHORIZO Serves 4
This meat-centric paella is also excellent with clams; just add 1 pound of scrubbed, raw bivalves to the paella along with the rice. Reduce the amount of broth by 1/2 cup, as the clams will emit juices. Pictured is another version of this recipe with roasted peppers and green beans.
¼ cup Spanish olive oil
4 Chicken thighs
2 links Bilbao Spanish Style Cooking Chorizo
1 Large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
2 cups Spanish short-grain Valencian rice, preferably Bomba
1 cup Medium Dry Amontillado Sherry
3 cups Chicken stock (5 cups if using Bomba rice)
Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch paella pan and brown the chicken.
Add onions and sauté until wilted.
Add garlic and cook another minute or two.
Add chorizo and cook until fat is released.
Add rice and stir to coat. Add clams if using.
Add Amontillado sherry.
Bring to a boil, when Amontillado is absorbed by the rice, add all but 1 cup of chicken stock, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add more broth if needed.
Continue to cook until rice is done 5-10 additional minutes.
Remove from heat, cover with foil and let the paella rest for 5 minutes before serving.