Friday, January 15, 2021

Chateau Haut-Pognon and Mediterranean Stew #Winophiles

This Bordeaux from Entre-deux-Mers is reasonably priced and delicious, making it the perfect wine for a casual weeknight dinner of Mediterranean Stew.  The stew, chock full of vegetables and flavor, is slow cooked requiring only minutes of hands on time.  Perfect meal to come home too after work or a day of running errands.

Chateau Haut-Pognon and Mediterranean Stew

Join the French Winophiles as we start the New Year off discussing What's New in Bordeaux.......

Jeff of Food Wine Click is hosting this month and asked us to take a virtual trip to Bordeaux and share something new or unusual that is happening in the area saying.......

"Let's look for something new going on in Bordeaux! Organic, biodynamic, natural wines? Cru Bourgeois? Outlying areas? You pick and share!"

I immediately headed to Wine.com and started searching for Cru Bourgeois....not available in Michigan.  Okay, no worries, how about an organic or natural wine from the area.....not available in Michigan.  Biodynamic?  Same response.  Sigh.......

Chateau Haut-Pognon

I notified Jeff that I would be unable to participate as the wines required were not available to me.  I did mention to him that I had a bottle of  Chateau Haut-Pougnon in my wine refrigerator but that I was unable to learn much about this wine.

Jeff investigated and told me the Chateau Haut-Pougnon was from Entre-deux-Mers and that he would consider this an outlying area.  I had found that this wine was grown in that area but didn't realize it would be considered outlying.  Thanks Jeff, I hate missing out on these wonderful events!

I also learned that this wine is a blend of the 3 Bordeaux varieties, Merlot (50%) Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) and Cabernet Franc (10%).  They are grown on the right bank of the Garonne, in clay, limestone and gravel.  It is priced at an extremely reasonable $9 per bottle.

Mediterranean Stew

It pours a lovely, deep color and smells of wood and leather.  It is medium bodied and was perfect with the vegetable based stew that I served with it.  

The stew is adapted from a recipe I found at Eating Well while researching the DASH diet.  The DASH diet is recommended by the Mayo Clinic to help lower your blood pressure.  My husband suffered a minor stroke after Christmas caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure.  They have him on medication but I decided to start preparing foods that will also help to keep his BP in check.  The DASH diet is closely related to the Mediterranean Diet so it is very easy to follow and adhere to.

This stew was made in the slow cooker and takes only minutes to put together.  It is a vegan recipe but as you can see, I passed around some Parmesan cheese, you would need to omit this if you want to be truly vegan.

Before I share my recipe, lets see what wines the others are going to be talking about during Twitter Chat  tomorrow at 11 AM ET.  We love to have people join in the convo and share their experiences.  You can find us by following #Winophiles.


Soup, Stew, Vegetarian, Vegan,
Soups, Stews
Mediterranean
Yield: 4 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Mediterranean Stew

Mediterranean Stew

This stew, chock full of vegetables and flavor, is slow cooked requiring only minutes of hands on time. Perfect meal to come home too after work or a day of running errands.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 7 Hourinactive time: 6 H & 45 MTotal time: 14 Hour

Ingredients

  • 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
  • 4 c. low sodium vegetable stock
  • 1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 t. dried oregano
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 t. crushed red pepper
  • 2-3 grinds black pepper
  • 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
  • 1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
  • 1 T. lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Combine the tomatoes, broth, onion, carrot, garlic, oregano, salt, red and black pepper in the crock of a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
  2. Remove 1/4 c. of the liquid from the slow cooker and combine with 2 Tablespoons of the garbanzo beans.  Mash together until smooth.  Return to the slow cooker with remaining garbanzo beans, kale and lemon juice.  Let cook for 30-60 minutes longer, until kale is tender.
  3. Garnish with shredded Parmesan Cheese, if desired or a drizzle of olive oil if desiring a vegan dish.

Notes:

Adapted from a recipe found at Eating Well.

Calories

149.28

Fat (grams)

2.39

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.24

Carbs (grams)

27.95

Fiber (grams)

8.30

Net carbs

19.64

Sugar (grams)

8.20

Protein (grams)

7.08

Sodium (milligrams)

468.47

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

19 comments:

  1. We have a feeling that recipe is going to definitely find a place in our kitchen soon...looks divine! Haven't come across that wine before so thanks for the introduction. Cheers!

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  2. Looks Delicious. I hope Frank is doing well.

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    1. Thanks Cathy. Just spoke with him and he sounds much better.

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  3. My kind of stew! This is a keeper for me. I've only tasted Entre-Deux-Mers white wines, but looks like the reds are a steal and worth tracking down.

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  4. I'm glad you found a wine for your Mediterranean stew. That stew is new for me!

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  5. This seems like a great winter pairing -- stew and red wine!

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  6. I feel your pain regarding minimal information about the wine. That is the case with many producers in Bordeaux. I'm familiar with DASH. We're also eating low to no salt right now. That's hard to get used to, salt brings out so much flavor. Glad you joined us!

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  7. I'm so glad that you're looking at foods as a way to help Frank's blood pressure...in addition to medication and all that. And I have black-eyed peas soaking with no plan for them. I might adapt them to this. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  8. I like the stew recipe. Gabe and I are trying to eat less meat and I'm always looking for new dishes to make!

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  9. It looks like a delicious stew and a wonderful pairing. Also, sending you my sincerest hopes that you husband is doing well and good thoughts for his ongoing recovery.

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  10. I love stews especially in January! Thanks for sharing this one — can’t wait to try it! Glad you found a Bordeaux wine in your wine cooler too! 😃

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome Lisa, I am too, I hate missing these events.

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