# Finca La Barca: AOP pimentón and olive oil from Extremadura - Source: https://origenes.shop/en/journal/finca-la-barca-pimenton-aop-huile-estremadure - Publisher: Orígenes (https://origenes.shop), épicerie fine espagnole en ligne, Villeneuve VD, Suisse - Date: 2026-05-13 - Langue: en ## The essentials - Finca La Barca is the smoked-specialities brand of the Oliva González family, the family behind La Chinata; the parent company, NETASA, was founded in 1975. - Its pimentón de La Vera AOP is sweet and smoked: the smoke comes from long, slow drying over oak embers in the secaderos, not from an additive. - The house's oil is a blend of olives from Extremadura and Toledo, extracted by purely mechanical means, with a mild, fresh, aromatic profile. - In a hot pan, pimentón turns bitter and black in 30 seconds: add it off the heat, then pour in the stock straight away. ## Four words to understand it Tap a card: where the smoke comes from, and how not to spoil it. ### La Vera A land that has grown olive trees and peppers for centuries. Finca La Barca's raw material comes from here, and is processed in Plasencia (Cáceres). ### Secadero The peppers dry slowly over oak embers, for around fifteen days. The smoky aroma is the result of this drying, not an addition. **Then** The pimentón in the 70 g tin is stone-ground: 100% sweet smoked pimentón, with no additives. ### Dulce This is the pimentón in the 70 g tin. The go-to for paellas, patatas bravas, marinades and eggs en cocotte. ### Off the heat Added to a hot pan like ordinary paprika, it turns bitter and black in 30 seconds. **The gesture** Turn off the flame under the sofrito, add the pimentón, leave it a few seconds in the hot oil, then pour in the stock at once to stop the cooking. > That is what separates a successful paella sofrito from a failed one. ## Extremaduran cooking at home The article's three dishes, with their gestures. ### Patatas bravas Diced potatoes, olive oil, sweet pimentón, salt. **The proportions** - 2 tablespoons olive oil - 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón - Salt **Cooking** Oven at 200 °C, 30 minutes. Brava sauce on the side. ### Spanish eggs en cocotte Buttered ramekins, an egg, cream, a pinch of pimentón, salt. **Cooking** Oven at 180 °C, in a bain-marie, 10 minutes. With garlic toast soldiers. ### The paella sofrito Four tablespoons of oil, grated tomato, garlic, and the pimentón added off the heat. > Pimentón goes in last, with the flame off. ## Have you mastered pimentón? Four questions, the answers are in the article. 1. Where does the smoky taste of pimentón de La Vera come from? - Drying over oak embers - Long, slow drying in the secaderos: the smoky aroma is not an additive. 2. When do you add pimentón to the sofrito? - Off the heat, right after turning off the flame - In a hot pan it turns bitter and black in 30 seconds. 3. What is the house's oil made of? - A blend of olives from Extremadura and Toledo - A mechanically extracted extra virgin olive oil, mild, fresh and aromatic. 4. The pimentón in the 70 g tin is… - Sweet (dulce), with no heat - The sweet one: pure smoky aroma, the go-to for paella. ## Article In the La Vera district of Extremadura, the land has for centuries borne two crops that have shaped Iberian cooking: the olive tree and the pepper. Finca La Barca, the brand of the Oliva González family (La Chinata group; its parent company, NETASA, was founded in 1975), works with both. And does both the old way — the one that demands time, not yield. Extremadura is a little-known olive-growing region. Andalusia has volume, La Mancha regularity, Catalonia marketing. Extremadura has something different: a harsh continental climate, century-old olives on poor soils, and a culture of the long term. This is where pimentón de La Vera is born — the signature spice of all Spanish cuisine — and one of the most balanced olive oils in the country. ## Why this house is a reference - **Pimenton de La Vera AOP, dried over oak fire for fifteen days.** The smoky aroma of pimentón de La Vera is not an additive: it is the result of long, slow drying over oak embers, in traditional secaderos. Fifteen days during which each pepper is hand-turned to dry evenly. No other paprika in the world is produced this way. The AOP protects this method. - **Mechanical cold extraction.** The olives are pressed soon after harvest, by a strictly mechanical process, to preserve the aroma. The house's oil is a blend of olives from Extremadura and Toledo, with a mild, fresh, aromatic profile. - **Two products from the same terroir.** Pimentón and olive oil are the two pillars of everyday Spanish cooking. Having both from the same Extremaduran estate is having an entire terroir's coherence in the pantry. The chef's corner · Hector speaks How not to burn the pimentón The classic mistake with pimentón is adding it to the hot pan like ordinary paprika. In 30 seconds, it turns bitter and black. The rule: add pimentón **off the heat**, right after extinguishing the sofrito flame. A few seconds to let it release its aromas in the hot oil, then pour the broth immediately to stop cooking. That is what distinguishes a successful paella sofrito from a failed one. ## The references in the Orígenes catalogue - **[Mild Smoked Pimentón de La Vera AOP — 70 g Tin.](https://origenes.shop/produit/pimenton-doux-fume-de-la-vera-en-boite-de-70-g)** The mild (dulce), no piquancy, just pure smoky aroma. The reference for paellas, patatas bravas, marinades, eggs en cocotte. 4.90 CHF. ## How to serve an Extremaduran cuisine - **Signature patatas bravas.** Potatoes cut in cubes, mixed with 2 tablespoons Finca La Barca olive oil + 1 teaspoon mild pimentón + salt. Oven 200°C 30 minutes. Brava sauce alongside. - **Spanish eggs en cocotte.** Buttered ramekins, egg + cream + pinch of pimentón + salt. Oven 180°C bain-marie 10 minutes. With garlic-grilled bread soldiers. - **Authentic paella.** Sofrito: Finca La Barca oil (4 tablespoons), grated tomato, garlic, and pimentón added off the heat. It is the soul of paella valenciana — without smoked pimentón, no paella. 15 days Drying over oak fire AOP Pimentón de La Vera 1975 Family group (NETASA / La Chinata) Pimentón is not a spice. It is an act of cooking.Extremaduran saying ## What to remember Extremadura is not touristy Andalusia or media-darling Catalonia — it's the Spain of the long term, of stone secaderos and family almazaras. Finca La Barca embodies this continuity: respect for the AOP method for the pimentón, mechanical cold extraction for the oil, packaging that protects the product. The Extremaduran terroir's coherence in its entirety. Finca La Barca's mild smoked pimentón de la Vera PDO has its page in our shop: [check availability](https://origenes.shop/produit/pimenton-doux-fume-de-la-vera-en-boite-de-70-g). --- Vous pouvez citer ce texte en indiquant la source. Prix, poids et disponibilité font foi sur la fiche produit.