THE OMNIVORE'S SOLUTION

The ABC of Grapes: Hárslevelü, the White for H

Sweet and intriguing, the famous wines of the Tokaj region in Hungary are truly special desserts in liquid form. Besides the grape varietals Furmint and Muscat de Lunel, Hárslevelü is used in the production of Tokaji, lending it aromatic and spicy flavors. Hungary also produces varietal wines from the Hárslevelü grape, and it is also grown in Slovakia and South Africa.

The 2000 Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos ($35 for 500 ml) is an intensely sweet potion with the distinct aroma of botrytis. It blasts out candied fruit and orange flavors, mingling with honey, ginger and apricot. With a sweetness grade of 5 Puttonyos, this wine is certainly rich and unctuous, and and almost syrupy.

More Value Wines - Another Shopping List For You!

As promised, here is the 3rd in a series - a compilation of wines that are truly enjoyable and that won't break the bank! These are finds purchased in Maryland, and they represent an international portfolio of crowd-pleasers, everyday wines and something besides your usual merlot/cab. The best is to just go ahead and try some, especially the ones that go well with barbecue - the grilling season has started. Let me know what you think!

Wines for Morels with Spinach Pasta

Usually, I would recommend a not too heavy red wine, such as a Burgundy or other Pinot Noir, or even a Malbec or Merlot, with a mushroom dish. Since we have spinach flavors in the pasta, a white is a better match. Let's stay with Pinot, though, and let me introduce you to a wonder Pinot Gris from Washington State. The 2006 Adelsheim Pinot Gris is full and lush, and on the creamier, not so piercingly acidic side of Pinot Gris.

A Windfall of Morels!

Three cheers for dear friends that share!  Faced with a huge bounty of morel mushrooms, a good friend decided to generously share (thanks to an impending wedding trip!).  An impromptu dinner was organized (very impromptu as in “scramble”!) and we indulged in home-made spinach tagliatelle with a fantastic morel sauce – yummmm!

Fresh Morel Pasta Sauce

1 T ghee or unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1/2 C finely chopped shallots
c. 1/2# fresh morel mushrooms (see note)
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/2 C dry white wine
2 T minced fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 heaping T crème fraiche    (or heavy cream)
1 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano (freshly grated)   

In a heavy sauté pan, heat oil and butter.  Add shallots and sauté over medium-low heat until shallots are translucent and fragrant.  Add diced morels and gently sauté until softened.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, wine, thyme, salt and pepper.  Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until wine begins to evaporate.  Add crème fraiche and sauté a few minutes until thickened slightly.  Taste for seasoning, cover pan and set aside while proceeding to cook pasta.

When pasta is in bowl, top with sauce and stir in the cheese.

Note:  We received these morels pre-cleaned.  They had soaked them in salt water for a long while to remove any stray critters and sand.  I have always been instructed never to soak mushrooms and this excellent article on morels seems to confirm that.  This sauce was very flavorful, I can only imagine how it would have tasted had the mushrooms not been soaked!  If only we could learn to grow these mushrooms domestically!  Any good mushroom can be substituted, as fresh morels are prohibitive!  Maybe a mixture with a couple of morels?

Spinach Pasta Dough

Serves 4

2 C trimmed, washed and drained young spinach leaves (packed)
1 T olive oil
1 T water
2 large eggs
2 C sifted unbleached all-purpose flour

or:
2 jumbo eggs
2 1/4 – 2 1/2 C sifted flour

Steam spinach, just until wilted with water that clings to leaves after washing.  Drain and place in food processor bowl.  Add olive oil and water and process for 5 seconds, scrape down and process for 5 more seconds.  Add eggs and pulse a few times to blend.  Add 1 C of flour, process for 5 seconds.  Add rest of flour and process for 10 seconds – dough should form a ball and ride up on spindle.  If it doesn’t ride up, add a tiny bit of water.  If dough is too sticky on spindle, add a tiny bit of flour.  Process for 30 seconds.  Shape into a uniform ball and divide into 4 equal sections, forming each into a ball.  Cover with a bowl and let rest for 45 minutes.  Process through a hand-cranked or electric pasta machine, stopping at number 4.  After all strips are done, attach tagliatelle cutter and run dough strips through cutter, dusting with flour when finished.  Fresh pasta cooks very quickly in boiling salted water – taste for doneness and remove to serving dish with 1 T of butter in it, toss to coat and then add sauce.

This is a fun family project and the reward of home-made fresh pasta tastes spectacular!

Uno, Due, Tre Wines for Pizza!

A full gamut of flavors is presented in these pizzas, and medium-bodied, not too intensely flavored wines work best. The Segura Viudas Rose Cava is a beautifully salmon colored bubbly from Spain that pleases the palate and the wallet at $8(!). It is filled with crushed red fruit flavors; its freshness and crispness make it a mouthwatering accompaniment for any kind of food. The second wine I would like to recommend is the 2006 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva from the Casablanca Valley in Chile. 

Pizza Numero Uno, Due, Tre

Our final package of rabbit brats from the Rare Hare Barn, for which we are developing recipes, seemed like a perfect topping for pizza.  So, we had a pizza party!  The rabbit bratwurst is lightly seasoned, perfectly salted (not too much), and lends itself to many possibilities (see this, this and this).  Though rich in flavor, there is NO fat in these sausages and they require some added olive oil and gentle sautéing.  My favorite no-fail, made-in-the-processor dough was the base for three pizzas.  I apologize in advance for the length of this post – there was simply no other way that worked logically!

We are fortunate to have a baking stone that fits on our rather weird ceramic grill, which makes a perfect pizza oven.  With a temperature of 500 – 600 F, we are able to simulate a real pizza oven, but you can do this with a stone in a regular, or better yet, convection oven at 450F.

Dough for three 14-inch pizzas

This is an easy, wholesome and no-fail delicious pizza crust!

1 1/2 C unbleached white flour
1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 C barely warm filtered water (30 seconds at 70% power in microwave)
3 tsp yeast

Place flours, olive oil and salt in processor and blend until uniform.  Sprinkle yeast on warm water and allow to become foamy (5 – 10 minutes).  This yeast mixture should be cooler than non-processor mixtures because the processor heats the dough!  When yeast is ready, turn on processor and drizzle the liquid through the feed tube.  The dough should fairly quickly form a ball around the center.  If not, drizzle in a tiny bit more water until the ball is forming.  Run processor for one minute to knead dough. 

Place a small splash of olive oil in the bottom of a large bowl, get some oil on your hands and remove dough from processor, forming a nice taut ball in your hands.  Place in bowl, cover with plastic wrap and poke 5 holes in the wrap with a sharp knife so dough can breathe.  Let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove dough to hands, form into a taut ball again and let rise another 30 minutes.  While the final rise is happening, prepare the topping ingredients and preheat pizza stone for 30 minutes on grill or in oven at 450F.

Pizza Topping Preparation

1 package rabbit brats, sliced in 1/4 inch slices and lightly sautéed in olive oil
1 orange and 1 red sweet pepper, grilled, peeled, and  cut into strips (see Method below)
8 asparagus spears, ends peeled and steamed until barely tender, 1 inch pieces
parmesan Reggiano, freshly grated (about 1/2 C)
1/2 C crumbled Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog goat cheese
1/2 C minced fresh cilantro
1 T minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 yellow tomato, thinly sliced
1 red tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 preserved lemon, chopped into 1/8 inch bits
6 Kalamata or Alfonso olives, cut into slivers
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 clove fresh garlic, finely minced
1/3 C sliced hearts of palm (canned)
coarse cornmeal for paddle

Method:  My favorite way to grill peppers is to cut the flat sides off the peppers and lay skin-side   down on the grill, or skin side up under a broiler.  When well-charred, remove and cover with a bowl for 10 minutes.  It should then be easy to peel the charred skin off the peppers.  Oh yes, and did we say how sexy the peppers were?

These ingredients, if prepped ahead and placed in little dishes, will provide the toppings for three gourmet pizzas, colorful, and delightful to eat.  Each pizza has a unique flavor in spite of the common ingredients of rabbit brats, asparagus, peppers and tomatoes.  Feel free to substitute and be creative.  Engage your guests or children in the preparation – it makes for a great party.  We served the pizzas with a simple salad and some sorbet for dessert.  It is a flowing dinner as one pizza arrives while another one is being prepared, but guaranteed to be lively!

A Poem for Now

Check out this post on The Omnivore's Dialog.  A poem called A Terroir-ist Manifesto for Eating in Place by ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan - eloquent, relevant, essential.  Presented at a meeting of RAFT:  Renewing America's Food Traditions.  Sometimes we need those who can take several steps backwards in order to leap forward.  The message needs to be heard above the din of mega-conglomerates.

Ramp Bisque

  West Virginia takes great pride in the wild ramp season, altogether too brief.  If you are fortunate to find some, and can afford the ransom (!), the intense flavor of onion and garlic along with the bonus of edible leaves makes it worth at least an occasional taste.  In this soup, the ramp shines and lends a flavor that can’t be duplicated easily, although it does remind me of a combination of leek and sorrel soup.

Because of the cost, one of my wonderful shoots (see growth habits), talented cooks in their own right, decided to use less ramps and introduce some potatoes and onion to fill out the soup.  It’s fabulous!  If you aren’t lucky enough to find ramps at the farm market, try leek and sorrel or even leek and watercress.

Ramp Bisque

1 T ghee or unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 sweet onion, minced
3 bunches ramps (about 1/2#)
2 organic potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3 C)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C dry white wine
1 1/2 qt. organic chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp hot sauce
freshly ground white pepper
1 C freshly grated excellent parmesan

Garnish:
1/2 C crème fraiche or sour cream
1/2 C chopped fresh chives

Thoroughly wash ramps of sand.  Slice white parts in 1/4 inch rounds and separately slice leaves in 1 inch sections.  Melt 1 T butter in 1 T olive oil in heavy soup pan (4 qt.).  Saute white part of ramp and onion over medium low heat for 5 minutes.  Add  cubed potato and 1/2 tsp salt and sauté for 5 more minutes.  Add wine, bring to a simmer and add stock.  Simmer mixture for 20 minutes until potatoes are just tender.  Add chopped greens, simmer for 2 minutes more. 

Add lemon juice, hot sauce, and white pepper.   Puree mixture with a stick blender or in batches in a stand blender until thoroughly liquefied.  Stir in grated cheese.  After cheese has melted, ladle into flat bowls and garnish each bowl with 1 T crème fraiche and chopped chives.  It is great fun to pull a knife through the crème fraiche and make decorations before sprinkling on the chives.  Let each guest do their own decoration!  (Sorry, we shot the photo before we pulled the knife trick!)

The ABC of Grapes: G as in Grenache

This famous red grape of Spain, where it is also known as Garnacha Tinta, brings fruit and fun into your wineglass. Grenache loves to bask in the sun, and produces potent wines high in alcohol. It is one of the 13 different grape varietals permitted in the great wine of the Southern Rhone in France, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, where it adds fruitiness, coffee and spice flavors, and alcohol. Grenache also produces a multitude of straight-forward, easy-to-drink everyday wines. It is also made into rose wines, such as in Tavel and Lirac in Southern France, or into fortified, port-style wines. The Old Vines Garnacha on the picture is an example of a "house-wine" - something to have around for every day and for guests with its easy fruityness and spice; a steal for $8.