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| The Final Product: Chorizo and Manchego on baguette, Spanish Meatballs with Brie and baguette, and Tortilla Espanola |
Last summer, the boyfriend went to Spain on a study abroad trip across El Camino de Santiago. (He's also in this class...you can find him at hokiewino.blogspot.com) During the trip, they visited multiple towns, eating at different cafes and restaurants along the trail. When we chose a wine region for our dinner, he was excited to make all the tapas he enjoyed during his trip while pairing wines from the region.
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| Dried Chorizo, Gran Queso Manchego cheese, and a fresh baguette |
The first tapas we had wasn't necessarily special in my mind, but paired well with the wines non the less. Dried chorizo, with a Spanish Manchego cheese, on top of a fresh French baguette. While the bread might not be Spanish by origin, he says a lot of the tapas they had were on bread similar to that.
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| Cooking the meatballs |
The next tapas was Spanish meatballs in a gravy, with Brie cheese on top of the French baguette. The meatballs were made from scratch, as a combination of ground beef and ground pork. The gravy was a mix of chicken stock, olive oil, onions, garlic, and flour. After cooking the meatballs, we put them all in the oven to heat them in the gravy. This tapas was really good, as it melted the Brie onto the bread.
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| Cooking the Tortilla Espanola |
Our last tapas was Tortilla Espanola. This ended up being my favorite food out of the three options. First, we fried some potatoes and onions in canola oil. Once they were fried, we mixed the potatoes and onions with eggs, and put the whole mix in a frying pan. This cooked for about 5-7 minutes, then we flipped the tortilla, cooking the other side for about 5-7 minutes. This basically came out like an omelette or a quiche without the crust. It was so good.
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| Spanish Varietal Olive Oil |
One of the things that helped give this dinner a truly Spanish taste was using a Spanish variety of olive oil. Back home over the summer, we found a store that sells olive oils and other spices from different parts of the world. We had bought this Castile Style olive oil over the summer because it was delicious, and it really helped add a Spanish flair to our dishes.
We had three different wines for our dinner: A white, a red, and a dessert.
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| Wine #1: A Verdejo |
The first wine we had was a Palacio de Bornos Verdejo from the Rueda region of Spain. Before trying it with food, I tried the wine. It smelled like a basic white wine, with a slight hint of apple. There was a citrus taste in the wine, almost like a Riesling.
The taste changed drastically with food. First, with the choritzo and manchego, the wine got more acidic with time, also enhancing the sweetness. The aftertaste still stayed acidic, overpowering any sweetness left in the wine.
Next was the pairing withthe Tortilla Espanola. This time, the wine's acidity basically disappeared, and we were left with just a very sweet wine. The egg meshed really well with this wine, keeping it extremely sweet. As this was a breakfast dish, maybe the light, sweet wine was a perfect combination.
The last tasting was with the meatballs. I didn't like this combination. All sweetness disappeared, and the wine almost went sour. I've always heard that red wines go with red meats, white wines go with chicken and fish. I'd believe that with this pairing, as I felt this duo didn't go together well.
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| Wine #2: A Garnache |
Our second wine we had actually tasted in a wine tasting before, loved it so much, that we bought it again. This Tres Ojos Garnacha wine was from the Calatayud region of Spain. This wine seemed oaked, as it was smooth and almost buttery. There was still a touch of sweetness though, which I really enjoyed.
First, we paired it with the chorizo and cheese. This made the wine come off as extremely overpowering. The wine was extremely hot, extremely bitter, and way too strong. I was surprised that these two didn't go together.
Second, we tried it with the Tortilla Espanola. The wine was more acidic here, but held its fruity undertones. There was a bite to this wine, as some spices seemed to stand out. This wine was good with the egg, as it really, again, seemed to enhance the flavor. After trying the light white wine with this same dish, I was interested to see how both wines complimented the dish well.
The last pairing here was with the meatballs. Honestly, out of the entire tasting, this was my favorite pairing. The meatballs with the Garnacha wine was a perfect combination. The wine wasn't too sweet, but also wasn't too acidic either. You were able to enjoy the fruit and sweet taste of the wine while also enjoying the bold and meaty flavor of the meatball. If I could have stopped here, I would have been happy.
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| Wine #3: A Cava |
This last wine was what I understand to be a Spanish champagne. This was a sparkling Cava, super bubbly, and with hints of apples and citrus. Honestly, as I feel with most sparkling wines, the bubbles overpower the rest of the wine, making it hard to taste. When I tried tasting it, I really just felt that the wine was a sparkling white wine.
First, we had the wine with the chorizo and cheese. This is where it got weird. I honestly thought the wine tasted like chocolate and cinnamon when I tried it with this dish. I felt like it was Christmas in my mouth. I want to say that the taste happens because of the cheese in the dish.
Second, we had the dish with the Tortilla Espanola. With this, the bubbles in the wine seemed to decrease. The potatoes made the wine come out as very sweet, and I understood here what people mean by a dessert wine. It really was a lot better to drink with food.
Lastly, we had the Cava with the meatballs. WARNING: NEVER TRY THIS COMBINATION. It was truly awful. The wine and the meatballs were fighting with eachother. It tasted like vomit together. I strayed away from even doing a second tasting with this one.
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| Time to Eat! |
In all, I felt that the first two table wines went best with food, though pairing a dessert wine with food helped me to understand what a dessert wine could truly do.
The Garnache and meatball was by far my favorite pairing, as it complimented eachother so well. I'm excited to do this in the future with other wines, as pairing wine with food really does change the outcome of the taste.
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| Delicious dinner ends in a sink full of dishes |
