Cook the last feast of the year, paired with Pazo Baión albariños

Pazo Baión presents a perfect menu, paired with its single-estate Albariños, to celebrate the last feast of the year in the company of your loved ones

Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins of Christianity. This allows us to trace the history of mankind as that of a particularly greedy type of animal. Ending 2021 celebrating the last feast of the year with Pazo Baión’s single-estate Albariños, can be a perfect plan to start 2022 with strength… which we are going to need.

Last Christmas we went to visit the kitchens of Michelin-starred chefs to learn the secrets of their Christmas menus. So, we were with Javi Olleros in his restaurant Culler de Pau in O Grove and with Caco Agrasar, chef of As Garzas in Malpica. But this holiday season we thought that the best gift we can give you is to give you a hand with menus to make at home. Easy, delicious, and paired with the best Albariño wine.

For the last feast of the year, we have thought of a menu rooted in the tradition and products of the country, that even the least talented amateur chef can execute with precision. Take paper and pen or open the notes app on your mobile, if you are not old school. And, above all, don’t forget any ingredients or to buy the wine!

Let’s get down to business.

Country cheese and quince jelly platter with Gran a Gran

Cheese and quince jelly? Isn’t that a dessert? Yes, cheese and quince jelly is a traditional dessert, but if there is an occasion to be playful, it is the last feast of the year.

In Galicia, there are four designations of origin. Arzúa-Ulloa, Cebreiro, San Simón and Tetilla. All of them are of excellent quality and have a strong personalities. From the creaminess of Arzúa-Ulloa to the intensity of Cebreiro, the smoothness of Tetilla, and the smoky flavor of San Simón. Four wonderful products to whet your appetite and start a celebration.

The preparation is also simple. The most important thing is to choose the right products and having the quality seals of the denominations of origin helps a lot in this task. Afterward, you simply have to cut them to taste and place them on a nice wooden tray. If you have aesthetic aptitude and interest, you can do a lot.

In addition, what could be a traditional cheeseboard, can acquire a more daring character depending on its companions.

On the one hand, we propose the traditional quince but sprinkled with fine flakes of Himalayan salt. What could be a dinner of our grandparents, is suddenly transformed into a game of flavors in which sweet and salty (con)fuse.

On the other hand, we would have the Gran a Gran, an Albariño in which acid and sweet dance in a perfect waltz. Its floral aromas and notes of candied fruit and apricot jam are the perfect complement to Galician cheeses. A delicious starter.

Ingredients

• One Arzúa-Ulloa PDO cheese
• A cheese from the PDO Cebreiro
• One San Simón PDO cheese
• One Tetilla PDO cheese
• A quince jelly
• Himalayan salt

Sea bass in green sauce and prawns with Pazo Baión

Sea bass is one of the star products of Galician fishing. For this reason, our gastronomy has revered it and it has become one of the favorite fish when it comes to devising the last feast of the year. Its tender flavor and the texture of its flesh make it the ideal seafood product to be the first course of our menu, accompanied by the no less classic green sauce and sautéed with Pazo Baión, the best young white wine in Spain, according to the Gourmet Wine Guide.

We begin by finely chopping the onion and garlic. Then we poach them over low heat and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley, salt, and flour the fish and peel the prawns. When the onion and garlic are golden browns, add the broth and let it sauté for five minutes.

After this time, turn up the heat, pour the wine and wait for it to boil, and evaporate all the alcohol. When this process is finished, we will only have to add the parsley, the fish, and the prawns. After three minutes, turn the fish over, so that all parts of the fish are cooked to the optimum degree. Three minutes later the dish will be ready. It is that easy. We already told you that cooking this last feast of the year was going to be almost child’s play..

The best way to accompany this white fish is with Pazo Baión. An single-estate Albariño in which the aromas of white flowers, such as orange blossom or jasmine, sit on a background of fruits such as apple or pear. A perfect combination that leaves a prolonged sensation of freshness on the palate.

Ingredients

• Three sea bass cut in slices
• Eight prawns
• ½ glass of white wine
• ½ glass of fish stock
• One onion
• Three cloves of garlic
• Flour
• Sea salt
• Olive oil

Roast suckling pig roasted in the oven with Vides de Fontán

When one imagines a roast suckling pig, one thinks of the great restaurants of Segovia, where this delicacy has been prepared for many generations. A historic dish that still arouses the same passions as it did 100 years ago. All this pomp can make us think that cooking a suckling pig at home is a temerity and, in a way, a sacrilege. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a very simple dish to make and perfect to be crowned as the main course of the last feast of the year.

First of all, the suckling pig must be generously salted, using coarse salt. Then we take a deep dish, fill it with a couple of centimeters of water and add aromatic herbs to taste and four cloves of garlic previously crushed in a mortar. Next, place a metal grid on top and place the suckling pig skin-side down, avoiding at all times that it touches the water.

From here on, the key will be, at all times, to play optimally with our oven. First, we preheat it to 160º. Then we introduce the suckling pig on the rack and the tray of water and herbs underneath. Let the suckling pig roast for 45 minutes. In that time the meat will have acquired a bright white color.

At that moment we proceed to take it out of the oven and turn it carefully, so that it is skin side up, to make sure that it is cooked in its entirety. We leave it for another 45 minutes in this position, basting it every quarter of an hour with the juice from the dish, to make it very juicy.

After this time we proceed to raise the oven temperature to 190º and prick the skin of the suckling pig in different parts, leaving it in the oven for another 20 minutes to get toasted and crispy skin. If we want the skin to shine, in this step we can brush it with lard, as it was traditionally done, or with olive oil.

When it is cooked, turn off the oven, take it out and open the bottle of Vides de Fontán. This single-estate Albariño is perfect for pairing with meats with as much personality and flavor as suckling pig. Its fatty, enveloping, and mineral character achieves a long development in the mouth and merges with the tenderness of the meat. The blend is a real delight.

Ingredients

• One suckling pig
• Coarse salt
• Aromatic herbs to taste
• Four garlic
• Lard or olive oil (optional)

Vanilla and caramelized pineapple ice cream with Gran a Gran

One of the most exquisite seasonal fruits at this time of the year is pineapple. Fruit with an intense and fresh flavor. To end our last feast of the year with a good taste in our mouths, what better than accompanying the pineapple with the creaminess of a good vanilla ice cream and pairing it all with Gran a Gran.

In this dish, the selection of good vanilla ice cream is essential. Not all of them taste the same. If you want to feel the scent of vanilla in your nose, buy nice ice cream.

As for the rest, the first step is, logically, to peel the pineapple, remove its hard parts and cut it into slices two centimeters thick. Once this operation is done, it is time to caramelize them.

To do this, start by heating the butter, brown sugar, or honey and the juice of one orange. Allow the sauce to integrate and cook for three minutes. Then add the pineapple slices. These will cook in the sauce for five minutes, turning them over after two and a half minutes.

After this time, we will be able to see how our pineapples will have acquired a beautiful golden color. Remove them from the heat, let them cool a little, and serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream crowning its center. We can sprinkle on top, pieces of peeled and chopped walnuts, to establish a play of textures.

After this operation, the only thing left to do is to sit at the table and uncork Gran a Gran again. Enjoying this single-estate Albariño is the best way to keep a sweet memory of our last feast of the year. Its honeyed notes blend with the caramel of the pineapple and the sweetness of the vanilla ice cream, forming a perfect triad that will delight the sweet tooth.

Ingredients

• One large pineapple
• 120 grams of honey or brown sugar
• 50 grams of butter
• One orange
• Ten peeled walnuts
• A tub of vanilla ice cream

These are the recipes, yours are the elaborations.

This menu is designed to facilitate the work of those who have to cook on these special days and to bring a few smiles to the diners. All this is paired with our single-estate Albariños, made with all the love and effort of our team of winegrowers and winemakers.

We hope you have a great end of the year and an excellent start to 2022!