4 April 2018 – Chef Townsend Wentz of Oloroso was recently featured in the May edition of Men’s Journal in their article about the 57 Things Every Guy Needs to Know About Cooking. Chef Wentz is also the Chef/Owner of acclaimed restaurants A Mano and Townsend, among Philadelphia’s best and all celebrated in The Philadelphia Inquirer by restaurant critic Craig LaBan. You can read the excerpt from the article featuring Oloroso below:
Throw a Party in a Pan
A Spanish stunner, paella is built for a crowd. “You can feed two to eight with the same amount of effort,” says Townsend Wentz, whose Philly sherry bar, Oloroso, serves three versions. Here’s our favorite.
Paella
Serves 6 to 8
Extra-virgin olive oil
½ lb spicy chorizo, sliced
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 pinches of saffron
4 cups dry white wine
2 lb Calasparra rice
2 red peppers, diced
2 green peppers, diced
Leaves from two thyme sprigs 2 qt vegetable or shrimp stock
12 littleneck clams, purged in cold water
12 mussels
1 lb shrimp, head off, shell off
Sea salt to taste
½ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 fresh lemon, cut into wedges
(for serving)
Piment d’Espelette to taste
(optional)
1. Over a wood fire or grill, heat a 14–16 inch paella pan to a medium heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil.
2. Add chorizo and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, flipping once. Add sliced garlic, cooking slowly until a pale tan, about 5 minutes.
3. Add onions and celery. Cook 6 minutes, until the onion begins to turn translucent.
4. Add saffron, cook for a minute or two, add the wine, and cook until wine has evaporated.
5. Add rice, red and green peppers, and thyme; stir to combine. Add enough stock to fully cover the rice.
6. Arrange clams, mussels, and shrimp around the pan and bring to a boil. Do not disturb the rice at this point.
7. Cook until rice is done and shellfish is cooked, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
8. Top with chopped parsley, Piment d’Espelette, and extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges.
– Blake Pertl