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of these recipes and that is bell peppers. I don’t
know how many Carmenere wines you have tried
in your life, but I always notice a strong presence
of bell peppers in everyone that I have tasted,
whether it is the nicest of Carmenere wines or
one of the cheapest. Since that flavor is so
prevalent in the wines, I would use it to my
advantage and make it my central theme in any
dish I prepared when serving a Carmenere wine.
In fact, earlier this year I served a good
Carmenere wine with a Roasted Yellow Pepper
Soup, (Not the recipe listed below, but similar)
and indeed it was a splendid pairing.
Some things that I noticed when tasting the
Carmenere wines at our staff meeting this month
was that even though they all displayed some red
fruit flavors, those aromas had trouble coming
through and the herbal accents more or less
dominated the landscape of the wine. That
translates into a red wine that can really make a
good companion with vegetarian dishes as well as
meat dishes. If you decide to serve a Carmenere
with a meat dish, I would pick a recipe that
shows off strong herbal accents for that very
reason.
In retrospect, I find that Carmenere wines really
need food to shine. It is not a wine that I would
treasure sitting down and sipping a glass of it
while engrossed in a conversation. It can make a
heck of a dinner wine because it has a lot of
accents that complement a variety of cuisines and
therefore, I would not hesitate to recommend one
for the appropriate menu. Here are some recipes
that will not steer you wrong with a bottle of
Carmenere at the captain’s seat.
Recipes
5 to 6 yellow peppers, washed
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped, about 2 cups
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon flour, preferably Wondra
1 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
2 cups milk, warmed slightly
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place peppers on oiled cookie sheet and place in oven. Roast peppers, turning occasionally, for 20 to
30 minutes, until the skins puffs up and is mostly blackened. Place in bowl and cover with plastic
wrap to sweat.
While peppers are roasting, melt butter over low heat and cook onion gently with salt, pepper, and
cumin for 1015 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add garlic and cook until aroma is
released. Sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring, another 5 minutes. Stir in stock or water and bring to
the simmer. Turn off heat and set a food mill fitted with fine sieve over pot.
Unwrap the bowl of peppers; they should be very soft. Pull out and discard cores. Place contents of
bowl, juice and all, into food mill and pass peppers through. Remove mill from pot and clean out
pepper skins and seeds by rotating blade backwards. Whisk contents of pot thoroughly and simmer
10 minutes for the flavors to come together. Whisk in milk, pass through food mill again into clean
pot, heat gently and serve.
You could also make this soup with red peppers. Better yet, make both and serve a ladle of each in
the same bowl.
When you buy peppers for roasting, choose those with flat sides as the very curvy ones don't roast
evenly. Roasting over a flame results in roasted peppers with a firmer texture, perfect for salads etc.
Oven roasting result in a softer pepper; using the food mill to puree eliminates the need to spend
time peeling and seeding.
To make this meal even faster, you can roast and puree the peppers a day or two before. Roasted
pepper puree also freezes beautifully.
Southwestern Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
For the salad:
· 2 cups cooked chopped chicken breasts
· 1 cup chopped tomato
· 1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
· 1 11-ounce can of corn, drained
· 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
· 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
· 6 cups mixed salad greens
For the dressing:
· 2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
· 1/2 cup picante sauce
· 1 teaspoon chili powder
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Preparation:
1. In a salad bowl, mix chicken, tomato, green onions, corn, cheese, beans and salad greens.
2. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, picante sauce, chili powder and cumin.
3. Toss salad and dressing together and serve.
Creole Stuffed Peppers
These green bell peppers are stuffed with rice, tomatoes, bacon, onion, and salt and pepper.
INGREDIENTS:
· 3 large green bell peppers, seeded and halved lengthwise
· 3 tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
· 6 slices bacon
· 1 teaspoon onion, chopped
· 1 cup cooked rice
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/8 teaspoon pepper
· 1/2 to 3/4 cup hot water
PREPARATION:
Cut bacon into quarters, reserving 6 pieces to top the peppers. Fry remaining bacon with onion until
crispy; add tomatoes to the mixture. Add the rice, salt, and pepper; blend well. Spoon mixture into
pepper halves, topping each with the remaining 1/4 bacon slice. Place in a baking dish; add water to
the dish, and cover. Bake 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Serves 6.
Broiled Skirt Steak and Peppers
· 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
· 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
· 1/3 cup apple juice
· 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
· 1 medium clove garlic, minced
· 1 tablespoon dried leaf sage, crumbled
· 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
· 2 teaspoons ground coriander
· 2 teaspoons dry mustard
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 3/4 cup olive oil
· 12 small whole onions
· 1 to 2 bell peppers, cut in uniform pieces
· 4 to 6 long metal skewers
Put steak into a glass bowl. Combine vinegar, apple juice, onion, garlic, sage, pepper, coriander,
mustard, salt, and olive oil; pour over steak. Turn to coat with the marinade; cover and refrigerate
for 2 hours. Remove steak from marinade and cut into 4 to 6 portions. Thread skirt steak, onions,
and peppers onto the long skewers, weaving the beef around the vegetables. Broil 4 inches from heat
for 12 to 15 minutes, turning to cook all sides. Brush with marinade a few times during cooking.
Serves 4 to 6.
GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Boil chicken in water, whole; salt and pepper and onion to season chicken.
Debone and save broth.
Grate 1/2-1 pound cheese, either Monterey Jack or Longhorn or a mixture of both.
Add to chicken pieces.
Mix in 1/2 cup sour cream, also 1/2 cup long green chiles, peeled and chopped.
Add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/4 cup or so of the chicken broth.
Layer in a casserole dish: pieces of corn tortillas and chicken mixture.
Continue to layer until all chicken mixture is used up.
Top with more grated cheese.
Makes 1 large or 2 small casserole dishes.
Serve with Mexican rice.
