Posted by Darby on June 29, 2010 under Malbec | 
Malbec wines tend to be rustic and earthy. What they lack in finesse they make up for in flavour and gripping tannins.
- In Argentina the everyday wine is Malbec, and the evry day dish is beef, often cooked on the Asado, the local variant of the barbecue. Here is a recipe for Chimichurri sauce which is a garlicy, spicy sauce which goes well with Argentinian BBQ beef. Such a combination doesn’t need a wine of finesse, use a Malbec.
- Similarly on a Latin Amercian theme you might try Malbec with spicy Mexican food, even the Classic Chile con Carne.
- Spicy pizza toppings with hot calabrese sausages may not be the best match for a gentle Sangiovese. Try a Malbec wine instead.
- An Aussie pub favourite is Bangers and and Mash. Some tasty thick sausages and some creamy mash, preferably with some onion gravy, and you guessed it some Malbec.
- Strongly flavoured game dishes such as wild duck or wild boar call for a full flavoured wine. Let Malbec fill this role rather than a softer Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.
- Malbec wines can also reveal their qualities accompanied by a sharp mature cheese.
Malbec wines are steadily growing in popularity in Australia. You can see a list of the 90-plus Australian wineries using Malbec in this article
Posted by Darby on May 18, 2009 under Malbec, Soup, Tannat |
Four essentials of this dish are onions, fat, stock and patience. Some people recommend using sugar or flour, but I think the onion juice is sufficient. You could use chicken or vegetable stock, but beef makes it heartier.
Ingredients for 6
7 largish brown onions (one for each person and one for the pot)
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of Duck or Goose fat
1 and a half litres of Beef stock
50 ml Cognac, Brandy or preferably Armagnac
Salt and black pepper
6 rounds of rustic french bread
1 cup of grated cheese gruyere, emmentaler or parmesan.
Method
Slice the onions thinly. Melt the fat in a heavy based stockpot. Slowly fry the sliced onions and garlic until medium brown, stirring frequently. This will take about 20 minutes but it is important to allow the onions time to render their sweet juices and to caramelise some of the sugar.
When the onions and garlic are nicely brown add the beef stock and simmer gently for half an hour. You can prepare the soup to this stage and keep it a few hours or overnight.
Make croutons by putting the cheese onto the bread and putting under a griller for a minute or two. Put a crouton in each bowl. Immediately before serving stir the cognac through the hot soup and then pour it over the croutons.
Wine Suggestion.
Serve with a full bodied red wine, perhaps a Malbec or a Tannat.
If you like Gascon style cooking you should get a copy of Kate Hill’s A Culinary Journey In Gascony: Recipes And Stories From My French Canal Boat.
Those who saw Rick Stein’s French Odyssey will remember that he used Kate’s kitchen to prepare some of the dishes. Click on the link to get more details of this lovely book.
