Spanish Cuisine Flourishes in Southern California

While our traveling options are limited right now, you can still experience the vibrant tastes and traditions of Spain at Bolero Restaurante, which recently opened to rave reviews (including my own) in the Temecula Valley Wine Country about an hour northeast of San Diego. The restaurant is located in Bolero Cellars, developed by the Europa Village resort group as part of a multi-winery resort complex. I recently had the good fortune to enjoy a breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Bolero and each meal was exceptional.

David Townsend, Bolero’s Food and Beverage Director, emphasizes the uniqueness of Bolero’s menu in Southern California and praises the talents of Executive Chef, Hany Ali, and Executive Chef de Cuisine, Luis Sandoval, for their development and execution of Bolero’s enticing and authentic dishes.

A superb culinary team

Bolero has a superb culinary team. David Townsend has managed such prestigious restaurants as those at The Rancho Bernardo Inn and at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Executive Chef Hany Ali, who is a native of Egypt, has worked at celebrated hotels and restaurants all over this country. He has always prioritized farm-fresh vegetables and exhibits this passion in the dishes he prepares at Bolero.

Much of the produce and herbs used in Bolero dishes has been harvested the same day from Bolero’s own gardens.

Executive Chef de Cuisine Luis Sandoval brings more than 20 years of culinary experience to his role at Bolero, where he created the overall menu concept. Prior to coming to Bolero, Chef Sandoval held culinary positions at Marriott International hotels, the Royal Caribbean, Disney, and Princess Cruise Lines. David Townsend points out that Chef Sandoval looked for dishes that represented both humble foods from rural regions of Spain to artistic representations of more modern gastronomy.

A lovely lunch at Bolero

This culinary team’s efforts have resulted in some special dishes. During lunch on a lovely summer day, we sat on Bolero’s spacious patio as we sipped a nicely chilled Spanish white wine. We were impressed to learn that while Bolero serves the winery’s own estate-produced wines, it also offers a variety of wines imported directly from Spain. With our wine, we relished a variety of tapas, including a well-known Spanish treat called Smoked Salmon with Crispy Cone—salmon served in a cone topped with Manchego cream and chives. Other dishes we enjoyed included a unique Leeks and Asparagus Salad with a tomato vinaigrette; a luscious Jumbo Crab Salad served

with baby green beans and a raspberry vinaigrette; a decadent Chilled Lobster Salad with perfectly tender, fresh lobster; Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops in a savory Romesco Sauce; and a juicy El Matador Burger made with beef and chorizo, topped with crispy shallots and parsley aioli.

Paella highlights our dinner

Our next visit to Bolero included a luxurious overnight stay in a private casita, but first we savored a delicious dinner. We had a group of five who were all salivating for Bolero’s famous paella, but we started with a variety of drinks, including icy, dry martinis and a traditional Spanish sangria. We enjoyed our drinks with an array of tapas. The Ceviche was beautifully prepared with shrimp, whitefish, calamari, and citrus. The tender Octopus Salad was enhanced with onions, tomatoes, and avocado. We loved the Catalanstyle Pan de Cristal—toasted bread with garlic and tomato—and found the Watermelon Salad with pine nuts and goat cheese to be a refreshing palate cleanser before our entrees.

Everyone at our table ordered Mixed Seafood and Spanish Chorizo Paella, made with shrimp, scallops, mussels, and whitefish, all mixed with Saffron-infused Bomba rice, Piquila peppers, and sweet peas. We loved the tableside preparation of

this much celebrated, traditional Spanish dish. I have made my own paella and have also enjoyed it at a variety of restaurants, but this was among the very best paellas I have ever tasted with its combination of unique flavors that melded together so well. (Now you can make this wonderful dish too. See Bolero’s Seafood Paella recipe at the end of this article.) We enjoyed our dinner with a wonderful bottle of a bold, tangy 2015 Bolero Tempranillo, which complemented our paella so nicely.

There are many other appealing dishes on the Bolero menu, including Roasted Chicken with Grilled Sweet Corn and Mustard Greens, Roasted Whole Red Snapper, Flat Iron Steak with Crispy Shallot Onion Rings, and the tempting, three-pound Tomahawk Steak. Food and Beverage Director David Townsend emphasizes that all the ingredients in Bolero’s dishes are of the highest quality. For instance, their beef comes from a rare breed of cattle called Piedmontese, which is originally from Italy but is now also being bred on a small farm in Nebraska. This wonderful beef is flown directly to Bolero’s kitchen. Townsend says, “There is no substitute for the tender and distinctive beef flavor these steaks offer.”

Photos (left-to-right: Leeks and Asparagus Salad ©tvm2020; Smoked Salmon with Crispy Cone ©tvm2020; Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops ©tvm2020; Executive Chef Hany Ali ©Europa Village; Preparing Paella Tableside ©tvm2020;

A luxurious casita experience and then breakfast

After dinner, we strolled to our nearby casita. We loved warming up at the flickering firepit in the courtyard, while roasting s’mores over the fire. Later we slept so peacefully in our cozy beds with silky smooth imported linens. Our casita had every amenity we desired, including a coffee maker, large flat-screened TV, luxurious bath products, and a huge, modern walk-in shower. Bolero has 12 stylishly furnished casitas that offer guests ambiance and comfort.

After our serene night of peaceful sleep, it was a glorious morning to bask in the sun on Bolero’s patio. I was so glad they could make me a spicy Bloody Mary to enjoy with our imaginative breakfast appetizer—Beggar’s Purse Crepe, an adorable little crepe gathered together (like a purse) so it could hold housemade Nutella and fomage blanc (white cheese), surrounded by berries. Next I savored the Serrano Jamon omelet made with flavorful, drycured Spanish ham and a creamy cheese, but there were several other enticing omelet options.

The Europa Village concept

Europa Village has exciting plans for the future of its multi-resort concept. You can already visit the Prelude to C’est La Vie and Vienza tasting room, which was the first phase of the resort’s European Village concept and where we have enjoyed many wonderful wine tastings over the years. Bolero is the second phase and Europa is now starting to build its next wine village, Vienza Winery Resort and Spa, focusing on Italy. Eventually Europa will create a third winery resort, C’est La Vie, with a French countryside theme. David Townsend emphasizes, “The concept of walking among our ultimate presentation of three wineries and countries will be unlike anything in the world.”

Bolero Restaurante is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Reservations are strongly encouraged, especially on weekends. The Catina at Bolero is also a pleasant place to dine for a more rustic, casual dining experience. Wherever you go at Bolero Cellars you will feel that you have experienced a bit of authentic Spanish culture.

You can make reservations online or by calling 951-414-3802.

Photos (left-to-right): Luxurious Casita Bed ©tvm2020; Serrano Jamon Omelet;

Ingredients: • 2 cups Bomba rice pinch of saffron threads 3 oz Spanish chorizo 4 oz Spanish white onion 1 red bell pepper 2 oz extra virgin olive oil 2 oz fresh minced garlic 6 oz scallops 6 pieces of mussels 6 oz shrimp 1 qt. shrimp broth

2 oz green peas 2 oz sliced red peppers

fresh flat parsley for garnish Instructions: • In a paella pan with olive oil, sauté the minced onions until brown. Add minced garlic, bell pepper, and tomato. Let them cook until they are incorporated. Add Spanish chorizo; stir until the fat is rendered. Put the rice and saffron in a bowl and add a pinch Mixed Seafood and Spanish Chorizo Paella ©tvm2020 of salt. Mix well and incorporate it to the paella pan, stirring so the fat from the chorizo and other flavors will coat the rice. After a couple of minutes, start to pour a third of the hot shrimp broth around the edges of the pan and mix gently. Let the broth cover the rice and let it cook until evaporated.

Once the liquid is evaporated, repeat the process until the rice is almost cooked and finally add the shrimp, mussels, seared scallops, sliced red bell peppers, and green peas. Let the seafood cook. After the rice is cooked, cover with foil and let it rest for approximately 8 minutes.

Then sprinkle some chopped flat parsley and extra virgin olive oil.