Spanish Wines for Paella

Last Updated on May 13, 2024

More fun than Pyjamas – I’m holding a Paella Party

It’s that strange time of year when everyone has eaten far too much already – but when it still feels like time to party.  Twixmas is always a challenge – a time when we all seem to have over- indulged to the point of wanting some different flavours and fresh dishes – but when those of us who are cooking are a little bit fed up with being in the kitchen. Paella is the perfect solution for me.  Infinitely adaptable, it does seem as if the only rule for an authentic paella is to make sure no speck of chorizo comes anywhere near the pan.  You can make seafood paella, meat paella or vegan paella with ease – and all of the dishes for me are comfort food – the kind of stuff I crave when the weather is cold, wet and miserable (although am also quite happy to eat sitting under a blue sky by a sandy beach).

With three bottles of Spanish wine to share and a group of friends bringing potluck dishes, I didn’t have to make much more than paella.  I did put together one of my favourite salads, with rocket, fennel, orange and a mustard vinaigrette because I know it works particularly well as a palate cleanser.  And, I bought cakes for dessert, from the healthy cake company – their keto tarta de Santiago!  The paella dishes were, in part, inspired by a trip to Arros QD  for World Paella Day, where I watched and learnt from Quique Dacosta (their seven Michelin-starred chef patron) and left with a goodie bag containing paella rice and cans of stock and tomato sofrito together with a beautiful shiny new paella pan.

One of my guests had just returned from a food trip to Spain and arrived with a stunning selection of Spanish-cured meats and chorizo.  Another brought olives, manchego and chorizo jam.  That made an excellent starter – we feasted while we sipped on Vilarnau Brut Reserva DO – a traditional organic cava made by Eva Palzas Torné.

Apart from the stunningly beautiful Gaudi-inspired bottle, it’s an excellent value ‘quality’ cava – with a price point of around £12-£13.  Made from the three traditional cava grapes (50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel.lo), it’s dry and refreshing with an apple and pear mouth and brioche notes.  It’s also vegan.  You’ll find it in Majestic, Ocado and Amazon too.

We started the paella feasting with a seafood version.  I have to confess I was particularly keen to try this simply because I have a great source of seafood from Potter Street Fishmongers, who turn up each Saturday to my local Farmers’ Market (they have a home delivery service too).  I can order in advance – and everything arrives carefully prepared for me.  So, I don’t have to worry about removing ink sacks from squid – and I can have live mussels and wonderful raw prawns – shell on or off.  It makes the choice of a seafood paella obvious.  I used a slightly adapted version of the recipe from SpanishSabores. substituting fresh chicken stock for seafood stock and using a little of the tomato sofrito from my Arros QD tin to boost the tomatoes a little simply because what you can buy in England at the moment doesn’t have a great deal of flavour.

We enjoyed the seafood paella with Cune barrel-fermented white rioja which retails for around £12 a bottle.  CVNE winery owns the Cune brand – they tell us that the difference in names come thanks to ‘A fortuitous misspelling between the U and the V ‘ and although they are best known for red Rioja wines, they also make some excellent white wines from the viura grape (also known as macebeo).

The barrel-fermented Riojo Blanco is produced in 50% new American oak so the wine has a lovely creamy texture with citrusy acidity and notes of vanilla.  I thought it was an excellent foil for my seafood paella!  You’ll find it in major supermarkets including Asda, Sainsburys and Waitrose and in Majestic.

I followed the recipe from Quique Dacosta for the Paella Valenciana, using the veal and herb stock and tomato sofrito he had provided. For 200g of bomba rice, you need 1.2 ltr of stock, 50g of sofrito and 30g of oil from making the sofrito (or in my case, from the top of the tin!).  Vegetables are 50g of runner beans, 60g of butter beans and 30g of artichoke and the meat is a mixture of chicken wings and rabbit or pork.

We all thought this dish worked brilliantly, with great depth of flavour largely thanks to the stock and sofrito. Another time I’d probably add the beans a little later.  But, one of the nicest things about making paella is that you absolutely CAN’T stir the dish while cooking.  So, it’s perfect for an informal gathering as no one has to stand watching over the stove!

We paired this paella with Finca Constancia Seleccion 2019 – a stunning autumn berry-tasting wine made from grapes selected from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Graciano and Tempranillo varieties. The wine is aged for six months in new French and American oak barrels.  Wonderfully smooth and elegant, it did benefit from half an hour breathing before we indulged.  It’s available for around £13 from Ocado and is one I’ll be trying again.  All three wines are excellent options for drinking with food – while the Vilarnau is also a lovely aperitif wine.  What better excuse to have your own paella party!

If you decide to go ahead and try making your own paella then do try my orange, fennel and rocket salad with it.  The perfect foil for a deeply flavoured seafood or meat paella, it’s a salad that is fresh – a stunning mix of flavours from the citrusy orange, mild aniseed notes of the fennel and the peppery rocket.  I love to add a handful of black olives too.  Here’s the recipe if you want to try for yourself.

Print

Fennel, Orange and Rocket Salad

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

0 mins

 

A fresh salad that works well in winter months and can be made all year round

Course: Side Dish

Keyword: Blood Orange, fennel, Olives, rocket, salad

Servings: 2

Calories: 150 kcal

Author: Fiona Maclean

Ingredients

• 1 100g bag Wild Rocket More is fine!
• 1 large Orange
• 1 small Fennel bulb
• 10 Black olives, pitted Optional - I like kalamata (Greek) olives

Dressing

• 30 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 10 ml White wine vinegar
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pinch sugar Optional

Instructions

1. Peel and remove the pith from the orange.

2. Slice as thinly as possible, breaking the slices up if they are on the larger side

3. Trim the fennel, removing the outer leaves and the core and reserving the fronds

4. Slice the fennel as finely as possible

5. Put all the ingredients into a serving bowl and dress just before serving.

Dressing (can be made in advance)

1. Crush the garlic lightly and put into a small screw top jar

2. Add the oil, vinegar, mustard and season with salt and pepper. If you like add a pinch of sugar which will help the dressing emulsify

3. Shake well to serve - or store in the fridge till needed

Nutrition Facts

Fennel, Orange and Rocket Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 150

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.