Multi-cultural Menagerie

Seafood Paella and 2006 Oriel ‘Mana’ Sauvignon Blanc: 5/5

2006 Oriel ‘Mana’ Sauvignon Blanc: 89/100

When talking about dinner the other night I recommended Cafe Iberico, one of Chicago’s best places for Spanish tapas and paellas. With an authentic Spanish decor, a meat and cheese market, reasonably priced food, and delicious sangria, I’ve never had a bad experience at Iberico.

But with a bottle of 2006 Oriel ‘Mana’ Sauvignon Blanc, from Marlborough New Zealand to pair, I decided to bring Cafe Iberico to me. Usually if we go to Iberico we’ll get an assortment of tapas, and maybe a paella to share, but it would be hard to make a small assortment of appetizers, with out dirtying every dish in the house, so I decided to make a seafood paella instead.

Traditionally a workers dish, paella has grown to become a staple of Spanish cuisine. Once made in the fields over an open fire for workers to eat as they pleased, paella is now served in most households in Spain, and paella competitions are held yearly— I would compare it to Barbeque of the south or pizza from different coasts. What makes most paellas special is saffron.

Saffron is the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus. Each flower only bears three stigmas (saffron threads), making saffron one of the most expensive spices in the world. Entering the grocery store I headed straight to the spice isle, afraid I wasn’t going to be able to find any saffron. I guess it was my lucky day, 1 gram of saffron was marked down from $18.99 to $9.34. I know, I know, I know, 10 bucks is still a lot for a gram of a spice, but the great thing about saffron is a tiny bit goes a long way.

Now the recipe I was following (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=225789) called for white fish, jumbo shrimp, and little neck clams. Snagging a pound of shrimp for $3.00 and a 1/2 pound of white fish for $4.00 I decided to save my money and skip out on the clams, which I found out Michael doesn’t like anyways. Deciding to use my homemade fish/chicken stock versus, the clam juice broth, I cut down the cost of the dish some more. When all was said and done I spent about $30 dollars, but the dish feeds 8 people, making it under 4 bucks a serving, and I was looking forward to leftovers.

As I described yesterday Oriel’s 2006 ‘Mana’ Sauvignon Blanc retails for $20.00, which is usually more than I spend on wine, so I wanted to make something of the same caliber. Now you might think, Spain is basically on the opposite side of the world from New Zealand, but both Valencia, Spain (where paella is most popular) and Marlborough, New Zealand are near salt water, which mean seafood. While I would consider Spanish food to be a bit more exotic than traditional Maori cuisine, ‘Mana’s’ minerality, acidity, and tropical flavors crave the exotic.

Since I am not the owner of a traditional paella pan, I decided to break the recipe in half between two large skillets, which made cooking very labor intensive. When it comes to complex recipes like this, it is very important to make sure you’ve prepped properly. Read through the recipe a couple times, chop your veggies before anything goes near heat, and grab all the spices you will need to use, so you don’t leave one out. A fancy cooking word for all of this is preparing your “Mis En place” (putting in place), which will expedite the cooking process, and leave your attention to the dish, instead of the shrimp you forgot to de-vein.

You remember that smoke detector from last week? It’s gone.

Sizzling peppers, garlic, onions, and herbs sent an intoxicating aroma throughout our apartment, which unfortunately lingered around all of yesterday too. Taking on the distinctive golden yellow color from the saffron, I added the broth to the rice and veggies, letting the flavors intertwine. After the the rice was cooked near al-dente I arranged the fish, shrimp and pimento on top, and covered with a towel, allowing the heat to finish the cooking.

Keeping to tradition, I brought the entire skillet to the table with and served with a wooden spoon. Talk about a vibrant dish, carmine pimento yielded to green peas and yellow rice with pops of pink shrimp.

Awakening the aromas of the wine, I gave my glass a swirl. Met with bright ripe fruit flavors of melon with a back bone of slate, the aroma was warming and refreshing. Taking my first generous swig, my palate was coated in tropical flavors with a bright acidity. Swallowing, I was left with a crisp finish and a slightly chalky after taste.

Grabbing a bit of everything on the plate I practically shoved the fork into my mouth. Vibrant onions and peppers danced about my tongue before being swept away by hearty shrimp and peas. A well balanced dish, with bright lemony overtones, I was transported to Cafe Iberico, the bustling dining room, and then off to Spain, the smell of salt water in the air.

Following the bite with another sip of wine, the Sauvignon Blanc was able to enhance the acidity in the dish, creating vibrancy and awakening the palate. The brightness of the wine was not overpowering, but rather brought out the floral quality of the saffron, and the low hum of paprika and red chili.

Left with an entire left over skillet of paella, Michael packed some for lunch the next day, while I wrapped the rest and put it into the fridge. Buzzing in a saffron glow, our apartment felt warm and relaxed, like a cool spanish night. As Project Runway finished on the T.V. I thought of New Zealand and Spain—I really want to travel. For right now I will have to settle for traveling through food—another perfect pair.