Julia Child is credited with saying that she loved to cook with wine and that sometimes she even added it to the food. I have a plaque hanging in my kitchen with that quote. It always makes me smile.
Zinfandel is a classic all-American success story. From humble beginnings, this previously little-known grape is today recognized for producing award-winning wines, gaining appreciation around the globe. Grape a bottle of Zinfandel and explore this grape's culinary possibilities.
I decided to explore the possiblilities by making a Zinfandel Wine Sauce Pasta paired, of course, with a couple of bottles of one of my favorite varietals.
The first bottle I opened and that I used in making the sauce is from Michael David Vineyards in Lodi, California. 7 Deadly Zins website is as fun as the name, you might want to check it out. I bought this bottle at my local grocer for $14. It is deep, dark, and bold. It has strong pepper and licorice notes. It was a good choice to use in flavoring the sauce that I'm sharing with you today.
The sauce took 2 cups of the wine leaving us with a glass each to pair with the meal. It was a great pairing as you would expect since the sauce was constructed with the same wine.
The Federalist was smoother and lighter than the 7 Deadly Zins. I preferred it however Frank preferred the 7 Deadly Zins. Both were nice bottles and paired equally well with the dinner, however I thought that the Federalist was nicer if choosing one to drink without a food pairing.
Zinfandel is very popular in New World Wines. In 2020 I shared an article in which I compared Zinfandel with Primitivo. I learned during my research for that post that while we once thought that Primitivo and Zinfandel were the same grape whe have learned that they are clones of the Crljenak grape, indigenous to Croatia. I have not been able to find a wine made with this grape.
I also have shared a bottle of PrimZin with you. This is a delicious blend of Primitivo and Zinfandel made by the winemakers of Coopers Hawk. I served it up with Pasta Puttanesca after reading a fun novel that you might enjoy. You can read my review of the wine and the novel in this post.
There will be no twitter chat this week but we are sharing some great articles that talk more about this wine and share some great recipes.
- Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is Inspired by Notes of Asian Spices: Braised Spareribs + Brown Estate Zinfandel 2021
- Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm shares Pasta with Sausage and Eggplant in a Zinfandel Wine Sauce
- Gwendolyn of the Wine Predator is all in with A Vegetarian Feast For The Holidays: “Vegducken” + 5 CA Zins
- Terri of A Good Life pairs Bucklin Bambino Zin with French Onion Soup
- Nicole of Somm's Table is Cooking to the Wine: Slightly Aged Mazzocco Zinfandel with Spiced Pot Roast with Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes
- Martin at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog shared Roasted Salmon Glazed with Brown Sugar and Mustard + 2013 Under The Wire Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé
Pasta with Sausage and Eggplant in a Zinfandel Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 eggplant, cut into cubes
- 1/2 sweet Vidalia onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 1 t. dried oregano
- 2 c. Zinfandel Wine
- 2 c. chicken broth
- 1/2 lb. Penne or similar size pasta, cooked per package directions
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil over med high heat until browned and crumbly. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pot along with the eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until eggplant starts to brown.
- Stir in the red pepper and onion. Continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic.
- Return the sausage to the pan along with the tomato paste. Stir, coating sausage and vegetables. Add the oregano and the wine, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until wine is reduced by half.
- Stir in the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and continue to simmer while you cook the pasta.
- When pasta is finished cooking drain and add to the sauce, toss to coat, and serve.
Notes
Adapted from a recipe by Fiona Beckett
Nutrition Facts
Calories
662.9Fat (grams)
29.73Sat. Fat (grams)
8.09Carbs (grams)
59.81Fiber (grams)
6.58Net carbs
53.25Sugar (grams)
10.87Protein (grams)
18.38Sodium (milligrams)
898.83Cholesterol (grams)
45.44
This sounds like such a tasty combo!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicole, it was scrumptious.
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