FIP BIO Pe Bde Pee Pe BIE Ble ke BIG BOI oo Fine Wine From The Argentine Can EnhanceYour Holiday Table (NAPSA)—Here’s food for thought: You can give your holiday get-togethers an extra flair with the help of two delicious dishes made with an increasingly popular wine. put the butter, onions and garlic. When the onions are translucent, add little salt. Then Malbec comes from French grapes transplanted to Argentina in the mid-1850s as part of a government program to improve agriculture. Since 1884, the wines of Don Miguel Gascn have been recognized for the rich, smooth flavors that come from growing in high-altitude vineyards in the Andes Mountains. Now The resulting Malbec red wine, explains Don Miguel Gascn Malbec winemaker Ernesto Bajda, is “richer, rounder, more complex than the original wine andhaslotsofflavor, rich texture with no sharp edges so it works very well with food.” What You Can Do With It For example, you may care to try these recipes for a daring dip and a deliciously stuffed pastry. Receta EmpanadasCriollas These little stuffed pastries probably arrived in Argentina from Galicia, in northwestern Spain. And the Spanish probably got the idea from the Moors, who occupied Spain for 800 years. Empanadas can befilled with a variety of flavors to makea delicious snack or a hearty, portable meal. “Criolla” is an historic term that refers to a woman of Spanish blood, but born in the Argentine “colony.” Ingredients Pastry: 2 poundsofall-purpose wheatflour 3 ouncesof melted unsalted butter (warm but not hot) 1.5 ouncesofsalt 7 ounces of warm water(or beer, or half water/half beer) Filling: 1% poundsof ground beef Chimichurri salsa and steak are staples of the Argentine table, and local Malbec wineis the per- fect companion. 3 poundsof very thinly sliced onions Y% pound of unsalted butter 3 teaspoonsof ground sweet red pepper 2 teaspoons of cumin 4 hard-boiled eggs, minced 1 teaspoonof chili powder 1 clove of minced garlic 3% ouncesof pitted green olives 1 pinch of sugar salt and pepper olive oil % cup of raisins (optional) Directions Pastry: Mix the flour and salt ina large bowl. Add the melted butter, then the warm water (or beer), and mix all the ingredients. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the doughuntil all the ingredients are well integrated and the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and leave at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Roll the dough to a thickness of only % of an inch, then cut into 6-inch circles. Filling: In a pan over medium heat, Add the meat and cook thoroughly for 20 minutes, then add the spices of cumin, chili powder, sweet red pepper and a pinch of sugar. Remove from the heat and add the minced boiled eggs and the green olives. Taste and season with salt if necessary. Let the mixture cool, then put two tablespoons of the filling into the center of the circles of dough. Fold the dough over to make the pies. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cook the completed pies in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Receta Chimichurri Spain, Italy and Ireland converge in this ubiquitous dipping sauce. The name may derive from “Jimmy McCurry,” an Irishman believed to have been thefirst to concoct this condiment while serving in the army in Argentina, when the country was under Spanish rule in the 19th century. 1 teaspoon choppedgarlic Y% cup chopped parsley 1 choppedscallion (green part only) 2 teaspoonschili flakes 2 teaspoons chopped thyme 3% ounces wine vinegar or lemon juice 3% ounces extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, adding the olive oil last. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours for integration of flavors. A whole day would be better. Learn More You can learn more, including where to find this fine wine, online at www.gasconwine.com. Argentinean Table Wine 2010 Gascon USA Hayward, CA. All rights reserved.
