Oak and Butter and Chardonnay....Oh My!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hey everyone, its Dave again, here to share some white wine with you. If you love white wine, you most likely have had a few Chardonnays in your time. If Cabernet is the king of the reds then Chardonnay might as well be the queen of the whites. Chardonnay can range dramatically in style depending on the method of fermentation (oak vs. steel barrel), the region and the climate the grapes are grown in.

I was graciously given a bottle of La Crema 2009 Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast by a good friend but it retails for approx. $18 per bottle so it's very affordable.
 

This wine is relatively well known within the restaurant industry. La Crema ages its Chardonnay in oak barrels, which imparts nutty rich flavors of vanilla, caramel and toasted almond. A wine like this can be difficult to pair with a large variety of foods but almost always its great with lobster, pasta with cream and cheese, scallops and roasted chicken with vegetables. Carrots and corn seem to work beautifully with Chardonnay and rich sauces tend to pair well with this wine. However, none of  this appealed to me when I was at the grocery store trying to put together a meal that would go well with this wine. I was really in the mood for something spicy, but I knew I would be taking a risk if I tried to pair La Crema with a powerfully flavorful dish.

Ultimately I decided to throw caution to the wind, live on the edge and make a vegetable curry using carrot and sweet potato with coconut milk. My thought was the sweetness of the carrot and the richness of the coconut milk would go well with Chardonnay with the coconut milk  taking the place of butter.

Sometimes I don't have the best ideas apparently. I loved the food and I loved the wine, but when paired together, I realized that the spiciness of the dish indeed overpowered the flavors in the wine. My impression was that the wine did not have enough acidity to stand up to the curry, and the richness of the coconut milk did not have the same power as butter or cream. In the end I would recommend this dish with the Gruner Veltliner that we wrote about in another post. Save the Chardonnay for my delicious lobster pasta! (coming soon)

In the meantime here is the curry recipe which I think you will enjoy (just maybe not with an oaky, buttery chardonnay).... bon appetit!                                

Vegetable Curry with
Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk 

                                                                 
1 sweet potato                                             
2 carrots
1 shallot
1 stalk lemongrass
1 tbsp grated ginger 1 lime
3 basil leaves
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 yellow pepper
good curry powder
tamari
honey
vegetable oil

                

Chop up all the veggies and set aside. Chop the shallot very fine and put in a small bowl. Using a zester or microplane, zest about half of the lime then juice the zested lime and put the juice aside. Grate the lemongrass and the ginger. Add the ginger, lime zest and lemongrass to the shallots. Saute the peppers and carrots in a little vegetable oil for about a minute. Then stir in the shallot ginger mixture until fragrant. Add a heaping tablespoon of curry (more if you like it really hot) then stir around for a few seconds. Add the coconut milk and the vegetable broth. Throw in the sweet potatoes and the squash. Bring to a simmer and add about 3 tablespoons of honey. Add about 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Test the sauce for saltiness and sweetness. You may need to add more honey or soy sauce depending on your taste. But don't add too much. You can always add more but you can't take it out once its in there. Simmer until everything is tender. Stir in the basil leaves at the end. Serve over brown rice and garnish with some more basil.

Enjoy,

Dave and Trish