Enjoying Sherry Wine Pairings and Recipes Oloroso

Lamb Cutlets with Romesco Sauce & Charred Spring Onions

Pair with Oloroso

Romesco is a Spanish sauce from the region of Catalonia, where a variation called salvitxada is served as a dip for calçots, local spring onions traditionally charred over open fires. One of Spain’s most popular sauces - with as many variations as there are cooks - it’s very versatile, popular with seafood but also delicious with poultry and red meat. The essential ingredients are nuts, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and red peppers. Traditionally, dried sweet romesco peppers were used, though today ñora peppers (most commonly used to make smoked paprika) are often included. Outside Spain, red capsicum and sweet smoked Spanish paprika are easy to find and give a great result. Of course Sherry is a perfect accompaniment for romesco sauce … especially Barbadillo Oloroso which complements the sweet complexity of the sauce and the sweetness of the green onions. Any leftover sauce will keep in the fridge for a week.

Ingredients

red capsicums

3 cloves

garlic

red onion, peeled and cut into eighths

long red chilli

Roma tomatoes

⅓ cup

extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for rubbing

100g

blanched almonds

50g

skinned hazelnuts

spring onions

1 tablespoon

Sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons

sweet smoked Spanish paprika

1 teaspoon

salt flakes

lamb cutlets

For serving,

crusty bread

Directions

Preheat oven to 240ºC.

Place capsicum, garlic, onion, chilli and tomatoes in a baking dish. Rub with oil and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast almonds and hazelnuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until lightly coloured. Set aside.

Trim most of the green off the spring onions, leaving about 14cm above the bulb. Trim off the root, discard any wilted outer leaves, rinse, pat dry, rub well with oil and place in a baking dish.

Remove onion, garlic, tomato and chilli from the oven.

Return capsicum to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes, until skin is blackened.

At the same time, bake green onions for 30-40 minutes, until well coloured and tender, turning the overhead grill on for the last few minutes if necessary to make them slightly charred.

Meanwhile, peel tomatoes, squeeze garlic out of the skins, peel chilli and discard seeds and set them all aside with the onion.

Place capsicum in a bowl and cover until cool enough to handle, then peel and discard seeds.

Place capsicum, tomato, onion, chilli, garlic, nuts, vinegar, paprika and salt in a food processor and blend into a paste. With the motor running, drizzle in oil. Set aside.

Heat a char-grill pan or frying pan.

Rub cutlets with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Cook for 3 minutes or so on each side, depending on thickness, until cooked to your liking.

Serve with charred green onions, romesco sauce and plenty of bread.

Lamb Cutlets with Romeso Sauce & Charred Spring Onions

Roberta Muir , Food-Wine-Travel Sydney Australia Visit Website

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Pairing Oloroso with food

The ideal temperature at which to serve an Oloroso is at between 12 and 14ºC.

This is the most suitable wine to accompany red meat and game. It combines perfectly with meat stews and casseroles; especially gelatinous meat such as bull's tail or cheeks. The perfect match for wild mushrooms and well cured cheeses.