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Week 24: What to Eat with the Gran Sarao Brut Cava

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First of all, happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers.  It was an absolutely picturesque day here in Los Angeles with bright blue skies and temps in the mid-70s – a wonderful change from the cold, gray rainy days we’ve had recently (and are SO not used to….).  J and I had a great day – brunch at Bottega Louie followed by a matinee show of the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  Neither of us had been to the WDCH yet, so it was quite a treat, and the show was great – Schumann, Debussy, and (one of my faves) Ravel.

How does one top such a day, you ask?  Well, when you’ve got the CorkPopper calendar to keep up with, you top it with a delicious dinner of Seafood and Chorizo Paella paired with this week’s winning Cava, the Gran Sarao Brut.  The gentle acidity and effervescence of this wine is a fantastic counterpoint to the spicy heat of the chorizo as well as the briny flavor of the clams, squid and shrimp.  Yum.









Seafood and Chorizo Paella

Serves 2

Ingredients
3 ounces fresh chorizo, casings removed
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/3 cup canned diced tomatoes (with juice)
1/2 cup short-grain Spanish rice (substitute arborio rice if necessary)
Pinch of saffron threads dissolved in about 1 tablespoon water
3/4 cups water
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound small Manila clams (you can also do 1/4 pound clams and 1/4 pound mussels), scrubbed and rinsed*
1/4 pound squid tentacles and bodies, bodies sliced into rings
4 ounces cooked chicken
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Preparation:

In a paella pan or large wok, cook the chorizo over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon until browned slightly.  Add the onion and garlic and saute over low heat until translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes, rice, saffron (with the liquid), and water.  Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the liquid is absorbed (the rice should be just about al dente at this point), about 15-17 minutes.  Try not to open the lid or stir during this time.


Heat a small pan with a lid over medium-high heat.  Add the wine and lemon juice and the clams (and mussels, if using), cover and steam for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan a couple of times.  The clams (and mussels are done when they pop open).  If any clams (or mussels) do not open, discard them.  Pour the shellfish and the liquid over the rice.

While the clams (and mussels) are steaming, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick pan.  Season the shrimp and squid with salt and pepper and cook them over high heat, turning once until the shrimp are just pink, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the shrimp to the rice.

Stir the cooked chicken into the rice.  Garnish with parsley and scallion and a wedge of lemon.

Buon appetito!!

Cheers!!

* When buying clams and mussels, ask for the ones that are closed.  If they are open, ask the person at the seafood counter to tap them on the counter.  If they don’t snap shut, they are dead and unsafe to eat.  I forgot to ask for this extra step and ended up with unusable mussels.  So sad….


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