Flaherty Wines

Jambalaya

It’s something of a running joke in our family that whenever I ask Ed what he wants for dinner, he responds vaguely, “A rice dish.” I find this response to be so open-ended as to be useless. It took me a remarkably long time to figure out that what he meant was a cajun rice dish—and that wasn’t particularly useful either, because I really don’t care for gumbo. I’m sure there are some exquisite gumbos out there, but I haven’t had them, and the ones I have tasted do not inspire me to explore further. However, I recently heard jambalaya described as a cajun paella. Now we’re talking! An excuse to use my paella pan!

Jambalaya

For the spice rub:

1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

For the jambalaya:

12 chicken wing drummettes
100 grams (3.5 ounces) bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1  1/3 cups Arborio rice (risotto)
1/2 cup white wine
1  1/2 cups chopped canned tomatoes, with juice
150 grams (5 ounces) ham, chopped
125 (4 ounces) cooked spicy sausage, chopped
3 cups chicken stock, heated to a simmer

Combine all the spices in the spice mix and rub on the chicken drummettes. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Refrigerate the chicken if you need to marinate it longer.)

Heat a 13-inch paella pan (or similar) and add the bacon. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fat is released and the bacon is crisp, being careful not to burn the grease. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and add the chicken. Brown well on all sides; remove to a plate.

Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and bay leaf to the pan, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, sauté very briefly so as not to burn the garlic, then add add the wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that are still in the pan (the pan will have partially deglazed with the onions). Add the rice and cook, stirring, for a minute or so, until the rice begins to look translucent around the edges. Add the bacon to the rice mixture, along with the ham, sausage, and chopped tomatoes. Stir to mix well, then nestle the chicken pieces into the bed of rice. Carefully add all the stock. (In my paella pan, this quantity of rice and stock comes right up to the very edge of the pan.) Cook without stirring for about 20 minutes, until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.

Note: to avoid burning, I place a flat stove-top toaster under the paella pan, so the pan is not directly on the heat.

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Roast cauliflower and chicken soup

It isn’t exactly soup season here in the southern hemisphere, where we are in the midst of a reasonably mild summer. It is, however, cauliflower season. I recently bought a beautiful (and quite large) cauliflower at the market, and all I could think of was soup. I toyed with several ideas before putting together this version. I wanted a one-dish meal, so I added in chicken and spinach to round out the dish. I poached the chicken first, then used the poaching liquid as the stock for the soup. The cauliflower weighed 1.5 kilos (over 3 pounds). After I trimmed out the core and roasted the florets, I had about 6 cups. Finally, a note on the cheese. There really isn’t much selection here in Chile, but I recently found a source for Italian sheep’s milk pecorino in Santiago. Love it! I’m thus using it on everything right now. If you don’t have any on hand, freshly grated parmesan would be a fine alternative.

Roast cauliflower and chicken soup

500 g (1 lb) boneless, skinelss chicken thighs
Stock (see below)
1 large cauliflower
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 leeks (white part, chopped)
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 – 4 tablespoons crème fraîche (or heavy cream)
1 cup grated pecorino cheese (about 50 grams)
4 cups chopped spinach
Chives and additional pecorino for garnish

For the stock:

Greens from the 2 leeks
1 small carrot
1 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic
3 pieces dried porcini mushroom
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper corns
6 cups water

Start by poaching the chicken: For the stock, roughy chop the vegetables, then combine everything with the water. Bring to a boil and add the chicken thighs, then simmer until the chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes). Remove the chicken to a plate to cool, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Strain and reserve the stock.

Meanwhile, break the cauliflower into fairly small florets. Toss with enough olive oil to lightly coat and season lightly with salt. Roast in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven when the cauliflower is softened (but not mushy) and partially browned. Let cool. Separate out about 1  1/2 to 2 cups of the smaller, nicely shaped florets, then chop the rest. You should have about 4 cups chopped cauliflower.

To make the soup, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the leeks, celery, garlic,bay, and thyme, and sauté for a couple more minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the wine and simmer to stew the vegetables, until the leeks are soft and the wine has mostly evaporated. Add the reserved stock and the 4 cups of chopped cauliflower. Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is quite soft. Purée in a blender and return to the pot. Add the crème fraîche and the spinach; cook briefly until the spinach is just wilted. Add the pecorino, stirring to incorporate the cheese as it melts. Adjust the salt, then add the reserved cauliflower florets. Serve garnished with chives and additional grated pecorino.

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Restaurant wine lists

Although our exports are growing, the majority of our sales are in Chile, and most of that is off-premise sales through wine shops and wine clubs. Our restaurant presence is growing, however, and we are pleased to be featured on the wine lists of a number of restaurants both in and out of Santiago. Here is a brief list of restaurants currently selling our wine:

Astrid and Gastón
Baco
Casa Lastarria
Da Noi (the photo at right is from Da Noi)
Divino Pecado (Viña del Mar)
H Terrado (Antofagasta)
Hyatt Regency
Kilometro 0
Le Bistrot
Le Flaubert
Le Founil
Macerado (Casablanca)
Mezzanotte
Santa Brasa
Squadrito

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Dark chocolate tart

When I was in France in July, my friend Juan Carlos made an incredibly rich chocolate tart for dessert one night. It was very simple, with few ingredients, but it was the perfect showcase for the fine Belgian chocolate. It has since become a key dessert in my kitchen. Since chocolate, cream, and butter are almost always on hand, I can easily put together an impressive dessert with only a moment’s notice. The only change I’ve made to Juan Carlos’s recipe is to use a chocolate crust.

The key is to use very good chocolate. I like a 70% Swiss chocolate. If you like sweeter desserts, either double the sugar (which will still be only lightly sweet) or use a a chocolate in the 50–55% range, preferably Swiss or Belgian.

Dark chocolate tart

For the crust

1  1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons (90 grams) unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2–3 tablespoons cold water

Baking pan: 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. (You could also make this in a standard tart pan and then serve it directly from the pan instead of unfolding.)

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder to combine. Slice the butter into the flour mixture, then rub the butter and flour together with your fingers until you have roughly pea-sized bits. Add the egg and mix it quickly into the flour with a fork. Add as much water as necessary to just bring the pastry into a ball. Do not knead more than 8 or 10 times as you bring it together. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for about an hour. This is a very soft pastry dough, so it needs to be well chilled when you roll it out. If you are in a hurry, flatten it into a thinner disk so it will chill faster.

On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out into about a 14-inch circle. To transfer the dough to the tart pan, roll the dough around the rolling pin, then lift it and carefully unroll it over the pan. Nudge the sides down to thicken the dough along the edges, which will strengthen the crust and help it hold together when it is unmolded. Poke the bottom all over with a fork, then freeze for about an hour. Bake at 425 F (220 C) for 15 minutes. Cool before filling.

For the filling

300 grams dark chocolate (70%)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cream
125 grams (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a small heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring gently, until the sugar is dissolved and the chocolate and butter are melted. Pour into the prebaked crust. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating to cool completely.

When ready to serve, remove side mold of the tart pan. Carefully slip a long, thin knife under the tart to loosen it from the base of the pan. Slide the tart onto a serving plate. If you like, dust with powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder before serving. This is a very rich tart, so serve it in fairly thin slices.

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Chicken tagine

As part of our world history tour, we just visited Ancient Egypt. The goal was to experiment with Egyptian flatbread, but what to serve with it? It turns out that the Ancient Egyptian diet mainly consisted of bread and beer, along with vegetables, legumes, and fruit when available. Meat appears to have been eaten sparingly, and only by the wealthy. Poultry would have been more common—and it is much more enthusiastically received in our house than any sort of legume (which is generally met by a hunger strike). Ok then: a chicken tagine. I am not an expert on tagine by any means, but I picked and chose from several different sources and put together this truly delicious stew. We served it alone with the whole-wheat flatbread (using the bread like a tortilla), but it would also be excellent with couscous. Sorry for the lack of a photo—I wasn’t planning on posting this, but it was just too good not to!

Chicken tagine

2 whole cardamon pods
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
pinch cayenne (about 1/16 tsp)

4 chicken thighs

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion (red or yellow), sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 or 2 two carrots, sliced
1/2 cup dried apricots, halved
1 lemon
chopped cilantro for garnish

Smash the cardamon pods and remove the seeds. Place the seeds in a mortar along with the cumin, coriander, and pepper; grind into a coarse powder. Add the remaining spices, using only 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Spread out on a plate. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Press both sides into the spices to coat well. Reserve any extra spices.

Heat the oil in a cast-iron Dutch oven. (If you are lucky enough to have a tagine, then use it, but I had to go with the Dutch oven.) Fry the chicken until well browned on both sides (skin-side down first), about 5 to 7 minutes per side; be careful not to burn the oil and spices. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and any reserved spices. Cook for a minute or two, then drizzle on the honey. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the chicken back to the pot (skin-side up this time), along with any accumulated juices. The stock should come about halfway up the chicken, leaving the skins uncovered. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. (Alternatively, you could transfer the pot to a preheated 300F oven and braise in the oven for an hour. I did mine on the stovetop because I was using the oven for the flatbread.) Halfway through the cooking, add the yogurt and stir around the chicken to blend, then baste the tops of the chicken. Nestle the carrots and apricots into the stock around the chicken. Cover again and continue simmering until done. Squeeze lemon juice into the sauce to taste and adjust for salt. Serve at the table directly from the pot, and sprinkle each dish with cilantro to garnish.

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Roman bread

We are currently on a world history tour. The Viking bread was such a huge success that it led to questions like, what would Roman bread have been like? (Sean wants me to tell you that it was made out of Romans, but really we just used wheat.) What about Egyptian bread? (Flatbread, as it turns out, so a whole wheat naan should be a good approximation.) This line of inquiry opens up a whole new way of looking at the past. For instance, when Marie Antoinette (purportedly) said, “Let them eat cake!”, what, precisely, did she have in mind? What was served for dessert at Medieval banquets, before sugar was first brought to Europe? What did the Incas eat before the Spanish arrived? On second thought, strike that last question—there is no way I’m trying out guinea pig stew.

But back to the Roman bread. I based my recipe on a rustic Italian-style loaf (the obvious choice, really) and increased the proportion of whole wheat flour, bran, and wheat germ. The result was just what we were looking for–rich wheat flavor and great texture, with good moisture content and a nice crust.

Roman bread

For the sponge:

1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/2 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let sit until softened (a few minutes). Add the flours, then beat with a wooden spoon for 100 strokes. Cover with a damp towel and let stand at room temperature for about two hours. Refrigerate overnight. Let come to room temperature before using in the final dough.

For the bread:

Sponge (above)
2  1/2 cups water (cool is fine)
1 teaspoon yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
3/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon salt
Additional white flour as needed

In the bowl of an electric mixer (OK, so my technique isn’t Roman, but I’m using industrially ground flours, so what’s an electric mixer in the end?), sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it soften. While the yeast is softening, combine the flours, bran, germ, and salt in a separate bowl. When the yeast is softened, add the sponge and gently break it up a bit. Add about three cups of the flour mixture (about half the mix), then beat with the paddle attachment for one minute, until the batter is smooth and elastic. Switch to the dough hook, add half the remaining flour mixture, and begin kneading the dough on the lowest or next-to-lowest setting. Knead the dough for a total of 17-20 minutes, adding in about half a cup of flour at a time. I used precisely the amount indicated, and the dough had a fairly stiff texture, but was not dry. (With my KitchenAide, a stiff dough will clump around the dough hook and rise upward, creating a big gooey mess around the top of the attachment arm. I find I have to carefully place a spatula just under the top of the dough hook and hold it there to keep the dough down. It’s kind of a drag to have to stand there holding back the dough, but it produces a better, more elastic dough. Just be careful not to get the spatula–or your hand–caught in the mixer. Also note that this one of the reasons I usually make very soft doughs, so I don’t have to use the spatula.)

When the dough is ready, transfer it to an oiled bowl to rise. (I prefer a tall bowl, so the dough rises up rather than out.) Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until at least doubled in bulk (about two hours). Punch down and quickly knead the risen dough, divide it two, and let rest for 15-30 minutes before shaping the loaves. To shape, roll the dough tightly into a log and pull the ends up and over to meet the seam.

The next step depends on how you will bake them. I used a baking stone to bake the bread, so I rose the dough in baskets. For each basket, rub flour into a clean dish towel and then line the basket with the dish towel. Place the loaves seam-side up in the baskets, cover lightly with a damp towel, and let rise until at least double in bulk (another hour and a half to two hours). About 45 minutes before baking, heat the oven with the baking stone to 375 F. To bake, carefully turn out one loaf onto a floured pizza peel, placing it toward the outer edge. Gently push the loaf onto the hot stone, then repeat with the second loaf. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool completely before slicing.

If you aren’t using a baking stone, then grease a baking sheet (ideally a double-layer insulated sheet). Place the loaves seam-side down, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until at least double in bulk (another hour and a half to two hours). Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the loaves for about 40minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool completely before slicing.

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Merry Christmas!

It’s been a very busy week, between work and Christmas preparations. The boys and I spent Wednesday and Thursday making cookies—gingerbread, spritz, chocolate spritz, snowballs, and candy cane chip. It’s only Saturday, and there are shockingly few cookies left. We’re having a seven-fish cioppino for Christmas Eve dinner (corvina, shrimp, calamari, crab, mussels, clams, andmachas, which I think are razor clams) and a summer grill on Christmas day. School’s out, and we’re all enjoying the long days, sleeping in, lazing by the pool. Christmas carols in summer are actually starting to feel normal after all these years.

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