Thursday, November 16, 2017

Say Yay for Beaujolais #FrenchWinophiles

Welcome to an early edition of The French Winophiles.  We normally post on the third Saturday of each month, followed by a twitter chat.  We are still chatting on Saturday and would love to have you join us at 11 AM ET. You will find us by using hashtag #Winophiles.  This month we will also be using the hashtag #Beaujolais.

So why are we posting early this month?  Beaujolais is releasing their 2017 harvest today!  Each year the current harvest of Beaujolais wines are released on the third Thursday and it has become a great marketing tool for them.  You can learn more about Beaujolais wines and this event by reading this invitation post written by Jeff of Food Wine Click, who is hosting this month.



Disclosure: I received free samples of wine for the purposes of this and future posts.  All opinions and ideas are strictly my own.  I received no monetary compensation for the writing of this post.

This year, on of our members, Lynn of Savor the Harvest, was able to procure samples of four different Beaujolais wines for our group to try;  Nature Terra Vitis from Vignerons de Bel Air, Brouilly from Domaine de Briante, Morgan Côte du Py from Domaines Piron and Cote de Brouilly Les Garances from Domaine Baron de L'Ecluse.

You can see what the others have to say about this wine in their individual posts:

The recipe I chose to showcase this wonderful wine made with primarily Gamay grapes is a rustic dish from Israel called Shakshuka.


Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in tomatoes and vegetables.  Often served for breakfast, I decided to enjoy it for brinner and pair it with the bottle of Côte du Py.  You can find versions of this dish in nearly every culture. This dish in France is spelled Chakchouka. I shared the Italian version, Uovo al Piatta con Pomodori, last Easter season.



I found this recipe by Celeste of The True Spoon on a website called Honest Cooking. It appealed to me because Celeste had paired it with Beaujolais when she served it.  I also was thrilled with the addition of beets to the recipe.


I had recently received a wonderful box of produce for our #FabulousFallBounty event that starts in just two days.  One of the items included in this box were some steamed and peeled baby beets.  Perfect for this recipe.


The most interesting thing about this pairing was the difference in my tasting as compared to Frank's tasting.  I took a sip of the wine and was please with how light and smooth I found it.  I thought that it was the perfect wine for this rustic dinner.

Frank also enjoyed the pairing but after he took a couple of sips of the wine he said "Wow, this is really a chalky wine".  We, more I than he, enjoy chalky wines.  I like when you take a sip of wine and it is so dry that your mouth feels like you just licked some chalk.  But I was surprised when Frank said this.  I didn't find the wine that dry at all.  It was not sweet. It was very fruity.  But it did not leave that chalky feel in my mouth as it did in his.  This just goes to show that tasting is in the buds of the beholder.  We should never judge a wine on someone else's review.  We all have our own palates and a wine that I love may not be the wine you love and vice versa.



I hope you enjoy this recipe and pairing that I am sharing with you today.  Stay tuned for further Beaujolais pairing from me and the other members of The French Winophiles.  You can find our posts on most social media platforms by following #gogamaygo and #lovebeaujolais.  Please join us for our chat this #Winophile chat Saturday morning at 11 ET when we discuss all of our #Beaujolais pairings.

Beet Shakshuka
adapted from The True Spoon

8 oz. baby beets, steamed, peeled and chopped
8 oz. fingerling potatoes, cut into bite size slices
3 T. garlic infused olive oil
1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. caraway seeds
3-4 eggs

Place the potatoes and onion in a cast iron skillet.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Place in a preheated 400* oven for 15 minutes.  Add the beets to the skillet. Stir, flipping the potatoes to allow even browning and return to the oven for 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomato sauce, cumin and caraway seeds.

Pressing down with a spoon create indentations for each egg you are using.  Add an egg into each well, season with salt and pepper and return to the oven for 10-12 minutes, until whites are set and yolks are cooked to desired consistency. Remove from oven and let rest a few minutes before serving.
Print Recipe

Join me on Saturday as I pair the Brouilly with a marvelous French Soup that I prepared for #SoupSaturdaySwappers featuring #FabulousFallBounty.


16 comments:

  1. What a fun and interesting dish! It is funny how taste really is individual and it's always fun to hear another's perception especially when it's different!

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    1. I could not get over how much I loved this dish. It was interesting to me, as well, how different our palates were with the wine.

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  2. What a cool recipe and pairing Wendy. Sounds delicious. If you wouldn't mind, would you please include my article and link in your article as well? Thank you.

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    1. Absolutely Michelle. Sorry I missed it the first time around.

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  3. Thanks for introducing me to Shakshuka Wendy. Funny when I think it chalkiness in wine it can be textural or in the minerality of a wine. Good point about how different our palates are. As I like to tell people "there's no wrong answer when it comes to wine"!

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    1. Very true Martin. Try the Shakshuka, I think you will like it.

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  4. My husband would absolutely love this recipe! Thanks for posting and for sharing your tasting notes. Your point about respecting that we all have different taste perceptions is right on. We like what we like! Thanks for all your work this month.

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    1. Heck, throwing together an HTML is nothing. I think you will enjoy this recipe as well Lauren. It is really good.

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  5. Shakshuka! This is a dish I need to know. What a delish pairing, so global and fun. Great post, Wendy - very interesting and yummy!

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    1. I was very pleased with the pairing and this is a dish I will be making time and again.

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  6. I'm familiar with shakshuka but have never made it. I guess it's time to give it a try!

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  7. Interesting, never heard of Shakshuka before!

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    1. Nor had I David but shortly after I made it we were watching The Brave and one of the team was making it for breakfast for the others.

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  8. I love Shakshouka and the addition of beets and potatoes sounds fantastic! I love to make it on nights when we need a an easy dinner. And very good point about respecting each other's palates.

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    1. It was our first time having it but it will definitely won't be our last.

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