Spanish Wines and Tapas Class at Alchemy of the Hearth Cooking School

Wine and olives. Wine and cheese. Age old combinations, right?

Marc & I were teaching a “Wines of Spain” class at Alchemy of the Hearth in San Marcos, CA a couple of weeks ago. We paired Spanish wine varietals with Spanish Tapas (small plates). Arleen LLoyd, the owner and executive chef, taught the students some fabulous recipes and we paired the tasty, yet unpretentious food with an Albarino, a Grenache (that was a bit too young for my taste), a Sangria, a Tempranillo and a white Sparkling wine.

It was great fun to pair the wines with different tapas. Two tapas have lingered on my palate for the last two weeks and I just have to share them with you. The olives were amazing-- succulent, juicy and zesty. We enjoyed them with both white and red wine.

Marinated Olives
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup green olives

Crush the coriander and fennel seeds with the back of your knife or use a mortar and pestle. Place the olives in a jar with an airtight lid. Combine the rosemary, parsley, vinegar and oil and pour over the olives. Close the lid. Shake the jar to make sure the olives are completely covered. Allow to marinade in the refrigerator at least 2 days before using.

Melon, Artichokes and Manchego Cheese Salad
1 cantaloupe washed and cubed
¼ lb manchego cheese cubed
Marinated artichokes, chopped
3 tsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the cantaloupe, artichokes and manchego cheese together and toss lightly. In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard and tarragon until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine the dressing with the cantaloupe, artichoke cheese mixture until well coated. Serve immediately.

The flavor of this salad is so unexpected. It is like a mellow explosion in your mouth. We drank a Tempranillo with this; however, you could pair this with the Albarino (white wine) and be very satisfied.

I have traveled extensively throughout Madrid and northern Spain and honestly, I got tired of ham and cheese, which is what we ended up eating ad nauseum. We never found the awesome food that I had hoped for. Arleen, made the awesome food that I had hoped for- in America.

Come join us for a Wines of California or a Wines of the World class that we will be teaching in May and June.

The schedule can be found at www.alchemyofthehearth.com