Dallas Central Market cooking school was packed last night for the first event in Central Market’s Pasaporte Espana. The event featured a food and wine pairing with two chefs: Quim Marqués and Daniel Olivella. Marqués is the owner of Suquet de l’Almirall in Barcelona. He is a former finalist in the Spanish Chefs Championship Competition and worked at the world’s most famous restaurant El Bulli. He is also the author of several cookbooks. Daniel Olivella is the chef/owner of B44 in San Francisco and Barlata in Oakland. A native of Catalonia, he came to the United States at the age of 17 to work in his uncle’s Spanish restaurant in Chicago. At 28, he went to San Francisco where he worked in famous kitchens such as Delfina and Zuni Café. In 1999 he opened B44 and subsequently received accolades as San Francisco’s Rising Star Chef of The Year and for creating one of USA Today’s Top 20 Dishes in America. The wine and expertise came from Miguel Torres of Torres Wines who matched each course with a Torres wine.
Vamos…The evening started with Coca (Spanish Flatbread with Sardines, Grilled Vegetables and Iberico ham) paired with 2010 Torres Esmeralda ($13.99), a blend of 85% Moscatel and 15% Gewürztraminer.
Second course was Grilled Octopus with Potatoes a la Sal and Fresh Herbs paired with 2009 Torres “Gran Vina Sol” ($9.99), a blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Parellada (a native Catallan grape). This dish was my favorite. A slice of potato boiled in salt water topped with octopus, garlic, onions and herbs. The whole was topped with pimenton, my first food discovery of Pasaporte Espana. It is paprika to be sure but, unlike the more familiar Hungarian variety, the peppers are fire roasted and smoked. Place a little on the tip of the tongue and it tastes like barbecue brisket in the mouth. The Torres Chardonnay was bright and acidic making it a good foil for the heavy dose of olive oil in this dish.
The next course was roasted tuna with tomato confit and basil. This was a good example of a theme that runs through the cookery of Spain. The ability to create memorable dishes from very few ingredients, just thoughtfully prepared. On our plate was essentially seared tuna with diced tomatoes, olive oil and herbs. The chef just chose the ingredients carefully and was precise in the
preparation of each one and the composition of the whole. One specialty item he did use: A mixture of black, red, Jamaican and Sichuan peppers sold in a spice jar at Central Market.
The wines with this course were 2007 Torres “Ibericos” Tempranillo ($17.99) and 2007 Torres Gran Sangre de Toro Reserva ($12.95) a 60% Garnacha, 25% Cariñena and 15% Syrah blend. The latter is the big daddy, so to speak, of what used to be my staple wine of Café Madrid (and is still on the wine list I see).
Finally, we finished with cheese. Torta de Barros was a creamy cheese frequently warmed and spread on bread. It is made from sheep’s milk from the curiously named Spanish region of Extremadura. Barros apparently has something to do with mud. Thus is a distinctive, earthy cheese that goes down as another find of the night. Our other cheese was the most familiar of all Spanish cheese, Manchego. However, this example was aged for a full year and had started to develop those concentrated flavors found when water evaporates from aging cheese.
With this course we had the highlight wine of the night. 2007 Torres “Mas La Plana” ($49.99). A Cabernet Sauvignon that is frequently compared with the best Cabernet-based wines in the world. This one was a dark ruby color with raspberries, vanilla and cedar in the nose. Open, but tauntingly multi-faceted fruit and spice flavors in the mouth. And tannins that were both soft but with a presence and a long, long finish. At retail, this wine rates as a comparative bargain.
This is the first of two weeks of events. Check the Central Market web site for the schedule and follow reviews here on SideDish.
