Spanish Campo Viejo Crianza with Tapas

I've made it clear here before that I do occasionally accept wine samples for review. I recently accepted and just enjoyed a bottle of Campo Viejo 2006 Crianza.

This wine is 85 percent Tempranillo, 10 percent Garnacha and 5 percent Mazuelo. The wine gets 12 months in oak, has a very deep color and a nose of dark fruit and certainly some vanilla.

I like it for its nose as much as its taste. It's just 13.5 percent alcohol and would be good with a small plates concept.

I have some recipes that have come with bottles of wine as did the ones below with the Campo Viejo. I haven't tried these but of the three I was sent, thought these two sounded pretty good.

The wine is good $10 Spanish wine. Again, comparative to the price point of others in this range, it's a nice choice if you see it in your wine shop.

Enjoy the recipes! If you try them, drop me a note to the email below and let me know. They do sound rather yummy!

Caramelized Figs with Mahon Cheese
Recipe created by Chef Stephen Justynski of Café Madrid, Dallas
Makes 6 pieces

3 figs, cut in half
4 ounces Mahon Cheese (or other semi-firm cheese such as Gouda), broken into crumbles
3 tablespoons sugar
1 rosemary sprig
Honey

Lay figs on an oven tray and sprinkle sugar on top. Slide into a preheated toaster oven and broil quickly to brown the sugar. Place the Mahon in the center of a platter and arrange the figs around it. Drizzle with honey to taste.
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Pumpkin Empanadas
Makes 6-12 empanadas of varying sizes

1 16-ounce bag of pre-made pizza dough, preferably whole wheat (can make your own dough if pre-made is not available)
All-purpose flour to cover hands and table
Filling:
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Spread flour on wax paper or other surface on a table. Roll small balls of dough around in flour and flatten into thin circles a few inches in diameter. Mix filling ingredients together in a bowl; spoon two tablespoons of filling into the center of each circle. Fold the circle of dough in half over the filling to enclose it, aligning the edges of the half-circle of dough. Press down all along the joined edges to seal the empanada. If you wish, add a bit of milk on the top of the empanadas and sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar before baking. Bake for 15-25 minutes, turning once.
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