The weather may have cooled down, but it’s still Vermouth and tinned fish season. At home we’re making fantastic sea-charcuterie platters using a variety of seafood, spreads, crackers and pickled vegetable combinations. Serve a chilled glass of vermouth with the assortment and feel like you’re in Spain!
Make an amazing tinned fish board with this combination of products, all available at Paris-Madrid Grocery. For two-three people, assemble a tin of mild and tasty Matiz brand small sardines with piquillo peppers, a can of Matiz brand hearty Calamari and white bean mixture with paprika and sunflower oil, a tin of sweet and tender Conservas de Cambados small scallops in Galician sauce, and open a jar of Groix & Nature Trout Rillettes which are creamy and savory, perfect on a cracker. Accent the fish with Ybarra anchovy-stuffed olives, Basque Piparra peppers (slightly spicy), grilled and marinated artichoke hearts, and crackers. These products are incredibly portable, easy to take to a tailgate party, picnic or on a camping trip. And there aren’t any pots and pans to wash after eating.
We’ll be pouring tastes of two Spanish vermouths tomorrow, Friday 9/8 from 2-5 p.m. FREE. Stop in to taste, then pick up some vermouth and tinned fish for the weekend!
Valdespino Vermouth, Jerez de la Frontera ($23.99) “This superb Spanish vermouth, from an excellent sherry producer, is made with aged oloroso blended with muscatel and infused with roots, herbs and dried fruits. It’s lightly sweet. But you get a whiff of the smoky, savory, umami of the oloroso, and it returns as you savor the dry, refreshing aftertaste. Great value alert!”
BCN Ambre “Mut” Vermut, Terra Alta ($31.00) BCN “Mut,” from Catalonia in northeastern Spain, is made with garnacha blanca, or white grenache, macerated with a wide variety of herbs and spices. Some you can detect in this lovely, slightly sweet yet bitter and savory vermouth: clove, cinnamon, fennel, some sort of citrus. This is a superb example of a classic, modern Spanish vermouth, if that’s not an oxymoron, just right as an aperitif over ice, with a thin orange slice.
Vermouth tasting notes by Eric Asimov, New York Times (July 20, 2023)