Mixed seafood saffron bolognese consisting of Freshly stewed mussels, shrimp, crab, salmon, and clams in a saffron and tomato stew with toasted orzo pasta and parmesan cheese. I was thinking a red from spain maybe a tempranillo or garnacha with nice acidity. I would love to hear what other posters would serve with this dish?

The dish sounds fine, but I wouldn't waste expensive saffron with tomato sauce. I'd go with an acidic red wine, and not an expensive one. Maybe a Sardinian Carignano.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
I wouldn't waste expensive saffron with tomato sauce.

Ditto that.

Double ditto. And I find calling it "bolognese" kind of interesting. I usually equate a bolognese with the addition of cream.

I like the Granacha idea, Alto Moncayo makes a great inexpensive one called Veraton.

And I always think of bolognese as a heavy meat sauce.

Thanks for the input. This was a new dish on the menu where I work and I had a good idea of what I wanted to pair with it from our wine list, but the chef puts together some dishes sometimes that have such different ingredients that I'm not sure what to pair it with.

Just curious, why is this called a "Bolognese?"

How do you feel about others telling you how to cook? Add saffron to your dish, it sounds wonderful! I'd drink a red rhone blend that has a small % of viogner.

I have to dissagree with the idea of a red wine. I would go with an Italian white from Friuli or Alto Adige. Maybe an Austrian Riesling or an Alsatian (Tokay) Pinot Gris.

Actually, I had a wine two weeks ago -- a Dettori Bianco -- from Sardegna that was *fabulous* and I think would pair really well...

I agree with the white, not a red.

Nobody was telling him how to cook, people are giving their opinions/suggestions, and for good reasons, to omit saffron. If it is a good tomato based sauce, the saffron will get lost (and with the cost of quality saffron, it is best to use it where you will benefit the most from its properties/characteristics...and using cheap saffron is not an option and it should not be called saffron, it adds nothing. If you are using cheap saffron, you might as well use frozen fish).

There are some people who simply don't like white wine. Strange, but true! A true Bolognese might contain only a small amount of tomato; if that's the case here, you don't want an acidic wine like a Chianti or Negroamaro. Work with the seafood angle and go with a Grenache, Syrah or Rhone Blend.