Easy Pairing: Romesco Sauce and Red Wine

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My secret sauce for pairing red wine with food is Romesco sauce. The trick is that the sauce is what gets matched with the wine. Ingredients may be tweaked to best match Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, or even a red blend. In other words, this is one way to go meatless and drink red wine, too!

True confession:  I am a lazy cook. The original recipe from chef and acclaimed cookbook author Joanne Weir calls for additional steps to fry the bread, roast red peppers, and toast the nuts. However, I usually don’t. Instead, everything goes in the food processor and gets blitzed up. This dish is ready in a flash!

Romesco Sauce Recipe

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How to Pair Syrah with Food

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Styles of Syrah are as diverse as the many growing regions from where they come. That means there are numerous dishes that can highlight the character of this mesmerizing variety. To that end, here are some tried and true tips to pair Syrah with food.

Sure, it can be hard to know what we’re going to get whenever we select a bottle we haven’t tried before. Nevertheless, in this case anticipate plenty of personality. Typically a concentrated ruby red with a purple hue, Syrah is a dark and brooding variety that relates well to gloomy days and robust fare. Although Syrah is at its heart a meat lovers’ wine, it can adapt to flavorful vegetarian dishes.

Pair Washington Syrah with Food

Black olive tapenade, or its components, help a dish reveal those same characteristics in a Syrah from Boushey Vineyard.

A recipe that incorporates a hint of smoky bacon is likely to enhance the smokiness often present in a Red Mountain Syrah.

Savory fruit sauces will enhance the charm of a lush fruit forward Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills.

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Techniques to Match Syrah

Protein

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The Best Smoky Baba Ganoush

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The best smoky Baba Ganoush starts with charred eggplant – the trick is to put it directly on the coals of the barbecue. If you’re firing up the barbecue anyway, you might as well give this recipe a try. The eggplants can char while you’re enjoying whatever has already been cooked. This recipe is probably easier than you think – and it pairs great with wine!

Recipe

2 Italian eggplants
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paprika
Extra virgin olive oil

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Easy and Elegant Crab Salad Recipe with Wine Pairing

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In an effort to elevate our staycation, we have upped our dinner game with this crab salad recipe and wine. If you want to treat yourself, this is the way to do it!

When we know that crab will grace our table in the forthcoming weekend, it is the eagerly anticipated highlight of our week. After all, if there’s one food that makes us feel special, it’s crab. At roughly $40 a pound give or take, it’s not cheap. Consequently, it’s not a seafood that we feast on regularly. Since these aren’t normal times, it’s something we now splurge on a couple of times a month. Mind you, the portions are small. However, that keeps us eagerly awaiting the next crab dinner.

The hubby is not a mayo fan, so I add just a touch to give the crab salad that rich textural element, then complement it with yogurt for some tang and mustard for a flavor boost.

Crab Salad Recipe

Serves 2

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Hold the Mayo Tuna Salad with Wine for Dinner

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Do you have canned tuna in your pantry? On a warm summer’s night it can become an easy yet elegant dinner as part of a composed salad. Simply start with this basic recipe for a no mayo tuna salad. Then serve it alongside a platter of beautifully arranged seasonal produce (read on for suggestions). Oh, and don’t forget the wine!

Tuna salad conjures up a lot of different images. To be clear, this is not the mayo laden version of my American childhood. Truthfully, that one was actually loaded with Miracle Whip then sandwiched between two squishy slices of white bread. It wasn’t a personal favorite. Years later when I encountered my first south of France version of tuna salade niçoise, it was a game changer. Now, some interpretation of that salad is regularly on our dinner table throughout the summer.

Since our neighborhood farmers market was cancelled this year, I’ve arranged for a weekly delivery of fresh produce. As the contents of the box changes, so does the salad. Use whatever sounds good to you!

No Mayo Tuna Salad Recipe

Serves 2

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