It makes a refreshing change knowing if you add a little wine to your favourite recipe it’s doing you a power of good – probably. Although red wine is reputed to contain the majority of health beneficial flavonoids, the minimum a white wine will do is increase the flavour of the dish. Here are five recipes where a little wine may improve your wellbeing and move your cooking up a notch.
Steak and Mash with Red Wine Sauce
Something a little different for those cold UK winter’s evening meals. Use a Pinot Noir or Côtes du Rhône for best results. To make your red wine sauce, add chopped garlic, rosemary and one bay leaf to the pan and stir, before reducing the heat to just below simmer, and adding ¾ cup of red wine. Add a vine of cherry tomatoes, squashing them into your sauce and blending for a couple of minutes. A little water can be added to thin the sauce if required.
Braised Ribs in Red Wine
Another favourite meal for those colder nights. For best results cook this dish using a 750 ml bottle of Cabernet to intensify the rich flavour. Failing that, substitute with Merlot, but remember, other red wines if not properly managed can make the flavour bitter. The full recipe and cooking instructions can be found here.
Drunken Cheesy Bread
If you want a different starter, or perhaps an evening TV snack, this cheesy bread can be ready in 20 minutes. White wines are easier to cook with because they contain far less tannins than red wine. A ¾ cup of decent Bordeaux or Sauvignon Blanc will fit the bill admirably.
Garlic Prawns with Chilli
We’ve all heard how healthy the Mediterranean diet is. Based on fresh fish, shellfish and chicken; with salads, legumes, whole grains and olive oil, it is high in protein and low in fat. If your holiday memories include Spanish Champagne Sangria and tapas, this dish may stir a few memories. Cooked using a dry white such as an unoaked Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, the aroma and taste of your garlic prawns will have you digging out the castanets.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Does your palate leans toward Italian cuisine rather than Spanish? Next time you’re entertaining, wow family or friends with your culinary expertise by serving up this great Bolognese recipe. With added ingredients including 125 ml of red wine, the flavour will be superb. For the wine, a Merlot would be ideal.
Don’t Cook with Cooking Wine
Wine is added to recipes to enhance the flavours. Using any ‘cooking’ wine will have the opposite effect. Generally, use red wines with red meats, and white wines with fish and poultry, although nothing is set in stone. With the high percentage of tannins in red wines, the best wines to use for sauces or as an ingredient of the main dish can all be obtained from wines direct.com and are; Merlot, Côtes du Rhône Cabernet, Pinot Noir or Chianti. For fish and poultry dishes or white sauces, choose from White Bordeaux, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre and dry Vermouth.
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post.