Cooking with Wine

Directions

Raindrops on Roses

There’s a time for gratification, and a time to be abstemious. (Or so we’ve heard. WineDown is only distantly familiar with the latter.) In any event, we all deserve to indulge our passions from time to time. True hedonists understand the singular delight of combining a few of their favourite things into one glorious, self-gratifying activity. Like – reading in a warm bath... sucking coffee through a Tim Tam straw... drinking Champagne with an old friend. So if, like WineDown, your two favourite pastimes are eating delicious food and drinking delicious wine, it’s time to hit the kitchen.

COOKING WITH WINE

Fun, cool, sophisticated and sexy! If cooking is the new seduction (a thousand ‘reality’ shows can’t be wrong!), then cooking with wine is a full-blown affaire de coeur. And whether your taste runs to fragrant seafood, creamy poultry, umami-laden stewy things or gorgeous desserts, wine is the ultimate ingredient – intensifying aromas, enhancing flavours, and adding complexity and depth.

Cooking Wine?

But first, a warning. There are a few Cooking with Wine myths that require busting.

Arguably the most important is to do with a product known (and sold) as ‘Cooking Wine’. A concoction of wine, salt, and preservatives such as potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite, ‘Cooking Wine’ tastes every bit as delicious as it sounds. A wise chef once said: “If you cook with bad wine, you get bad food.” So, if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it. That goes for wine that is corked; wines that have been over-aged or poorly stored; wines that are leftover from last week’s dinner party; and ‘Cooking Wine’. That said, there’s no need to bust out the Grange for Nonna’s Spag Bol, just choose a wine that you enjoy. In Australia, we’re blessed with an abundance of excellent wines in the sub $20 category – that’s where you should be looking.

Cooking out the Alcohol

You know that thing about the alcohol ‘cooking out’ of a dish? It’s a bit of a furphy. The alcohol in wine takes several hours to fully evaporate during cooking, so anything made quickly (like an easy risotto), or wine-based marinades and sauces, will still contain residual alcohol – which is worth remembering, especially if you’re cooking for non-drinkers or children.

This Goes with This

The best dishes match the core ingredient with a similarly profiled wine. For instance, citrus-based dishes – like fish with lemon – work well with tangy, citrussy Riesling; a creamy sauce (e.g. for chicken) is great with Chardonnay or Pinot Gris. Sauv Blanc is terrific with lemony, garlicky dishes, but take care: its assertively green flavours can overwhelm more delicate ingredients. br>
Pork, duck and mushrooms marry well with Pinot Noir; while tomato-based sauces – like your Spag Bol – adore a dollop of Sangiovese or Cab Sauv. Classic dishes, like Boeuf Bourguignon, offer a fundamental clue (Burgundy being the home of Pinot Noir), but the truth is, you could easily substitute a Merlot or even a mid-weight Cabernet. But, because tannins become more pronounced with cooking, it’s best to avoid big, tannic reds.

A Little Glass of Inspo

Here are a few ideas to get your taste-brain excited. (WineDown’s not in the recipe biz, but if you drop the name into your favourite search engine, you’ll get plenty of hits.) And if the dish of your dreams isn’t here, we can heartily recommend a small glass of inspiration to get your imagination going and the dinner juices flowing.

• Riesling: Mussels in white wine or... Cassoulet with Croûtes and Lemon-Parsley Butter
• Pinot Gris: Seared Scallops with Butter Sauce or... Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta
• Chardonnay (use unoaked!): Saffron Risotto or... Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
• Pinot Noir: Coq au Vin or... Fennel-scented duck breast Shiraz Spag Bol or... Not yer Nanna’s Stew
• Cab Sauv: Pan roasted Veal Chops or... Chocolate Cake!
• Merlot: Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Strawberry Merlot Sauce or... Merlot Chilli Sangiovese Spaghetti and meatballs or... Macerated Strawbs
• Prosecco (or Champagne!): Poached Pears Moscato Summer Pudding

And Finally, Four Awesome Tips

1. Use wine to deglaze the pan.
2. Freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays for future use. (WineDown: leftover wine????)
3. Choose a recipe that doesn’t require the whole bottle. (We don’t really need to spell this out, do we...?)
4. Learn to stir one-handed. (see above)

Cheers!