Sofrito sauce is basically a tomato and onion sauce, but contrary to what one might think, it’s the onion that’s gotta be just right.  The onion must carmelize before the tomato is added. So without further adieu:

Stew’s Sofrito

8 ripe on-the-vine tomatos

1 cup Spanish olive oil

1 1/2  large red onions, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp smoked pimenton (available at Whole Foods or Williams Sonoma)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Saffron threads, 1 pinch

Peel the tomatoes and finely dice them, set aside.  Heat the olive oil in a medium to large saute pan over a medium-low heat.  When warmed add the salt, onions and shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until they become tender and lightly browned- about 45 minutes.  If the onion starts to darken before they caramelize add a bit of water.  Next, add the tomato, the pimenton, the bay leaf and the saffron threads and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes or so over low heat.  When the tomato has deepened in color and the oil has begun to separate the sauce is ready.

I use the shallot to make a richer, more complex sauce.  You can use this in a paella immediately or store it in the fridge for future use.

Fried Goat Cheese with Honey

1/4 pound of a creamy goat cheese

1 small red onion, finely sliced

1 egg, beaten

flour

1 tsp sugar

Spanish olive oil

Honey

Fry the onion over medium heat until it is really soft then drain off the oil, add the sugar and carmelize.  As soon as thats done, chill it. Next, form the goat cheese into 4 equal size balls. Dip cheese balls in egg and then lightly cover in flour. Fry in a shallow pan of olive oil until golden brown.  Put the carmelized onion in the center of a plate and arrange the cheese balls evenly around it. Drizzle the cheese with honey.  Serve with Sherry if you have it!

Crostini with Chorizo and Bittersweet Chocolate Drizzle

Spicy dry cured Spanish Chorizo, cut to 1/4 inch slices.

3 oz bittersweet dark chocolate (Guitard wafers are great for this)

A baguette

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375. While waiting for the oven to heat up, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan and briefly sear both sides of the chorizo. Set aside the chorizo and brush the chorizo infused olive oil onto the crostini slices– one side only.  Place the crostini onto a baking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes.  Melt the chocoalte wafers or chips over a low heat.  When the crostini is done put a slice of chorizo on top and drizzle it with the melted chocolate.  Serve with a full bodied Tempranillo.

As an example, a couple months ago I was perusing the menu at Sala 19 and decided to start adapting a couple of the tapas dishes to ingredients I can get here in Fresno.  I can’t get real Iberico ham here (I’d like to…) so Proscuitto can be exchanged. You can get it at virtually any supermarket deli counter.  Does that make the recipe Italian? Maybe. Does it matter? Not really!

So the recipe goes something like this:

DATILES CON JAMON (dates with ham)

16 dates (preferably pitted)

1/4 pound thick cut procuitto (about 1mm thick)

unsalted almonds

First pit the dates if its not done already. The stuff in 1 almond into each date and wrap the date with a 1 inch by 4 strip of prosciutto.  Place in a 400 degree oven  just until the proscuitto just crisps up. If you don’t get on well with your oven either, the grill works fine too.

Serves 4

The salty meat plays off the sweetness of the dates perfectly and it almost melts in your mouth!

Even better, the prep takes maybe 15 minutes. Pure simplicity.

The 2003 Pujanza Rioja is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano.  Our consensus is that it has medium bodied aromas of cherry, raspberry and white peppercorn. The predominant flavor is of raw cocoa powder and light red cherry. The wine was served with two Spanish dishes:   Plate 1: A mild chorizo baked in a moderately spiced variation of patatas gravas.  The wine went very well with this dish.  Plate 2: A chicken and spicy chorizo pealla.

The wine as a stand alone and with Plate 1 got a consensus rating of 3.5 stars but with Plate 2 it did not fare as well; the wine simply lacks the body to stand up to the richer flavors in the paella. So for this pairing the wine gets 3 stars.

Overall the 2003 Pujanza Rioja is a decent but unexciting 3.5 star value at $25 so long as its paired with mild dishes.

Me:      ”Hey guys, this wine has aromas of lychee nut and warm wet
               gravel”
Them:  “Sure Stew, whatyever you say.”
Me:       “I swear I’m serious and Ill prove it to you– just give me a
               moment to heat up some water and get some gravel out of
                the goldfish bowl…”

All kidding aside,  I’m looking forward to getting this weekly tasting program under way.  I hope you are too.