EAT WINE

     In Chile there has been a major increase in good quality, low-acid extra virgin olive oil production in the past couple years, although still only a fraction of it is being exported. That picture is rapidly changing and soon, I imagine that many Chilean oils will end up on the shelves of goodie stories like Dean & Deluca in New York. In the mean time, those of us down here in Chile are also enjoying discovering these delicious olive oil gems!     

A couple months ago I was invited to sit as part of a tasting panel of freshly pressed oils from the 2006 harvest with around 14 different producers from all over the central valley of Chile (from Ovalle in the north to Talca in the South). In general, the overall quality of was excellent, but within this bunch, there was one olive oil that caught my palate’s attention: Las Doscientas (200). I was smitten at first whiff and sip with its herbaceous aromas, slinky feel in the mouth and a lot of green peppery notes (think arugula). We tried the Arbequina (a slightly more suave variety of olives) at the tasting but a couple weeks later, I received the samples of the 2006 press with a welcome addition: Picual, my hands-down favorite olive oil variety.

The idea of the samples was simple: taste to see how it works with food because as with wine, olive oil becomes a different animal when food enters the equation. And just like with wine, the more you get to know olive oil, the more you recognize the different varieties and their characteristic aromas and flavors that can range from cut grass to bitter almonds to pepper or even smoke. I tend to gravitate towards more medium-weight, balanced, peppery, pack-a-punch oils that still versatile enough to go with everything from stir-fried veggies to “meat” protein to cheese. I have found that in blind tastings this many times translates to Picual. Hence, you can understand my bliss when I found and tried this oil sample. To give you some background on Las Doscientas, the name of the oil is derived from parcel of land where the olive grove is planted in the area of Pencahue located in the Maule valley, about 100 miles south of Santiago. The olives were harvested in May and recently pressed with no filtering Basically, what you are getting is pure olive oil, straight up. The oil has garnered a lot of awards from its excellent quality including the Gold Medal at the LA County Fair in 2005 and 2006 for the Arbequina variety.

If you can find this gem, remember, now is the best time to try this fresh-pressed oil as the curve is DOWNWARD with oils over time—that is, they do not get better with “aging”! It is absolutely worth the effort to procure some other this lovely oil. At press time, we know it is available in the US via the Olive Oil Lover’s club in the Rosengarten report, www.rosengartenreport.com. Good luck!

Hace poco encontré en la feria una de mis verduras invernales favoritas: el hinojo fresco. Emocionada para compartir este hallazgo con mi pareja, a mi sorpresa me miró con sospechosa,  “¿crudo?..no gracias-sólo sirve para el dolor de guata.” Okay, obviamente el hinojo tiene atributos medicinales pero por favor, comiencen a experimentar más en la cocina con esta bulba blanca de textura crocante, sabor sútil y un gusto levemente dulce con algunas notas que acuerdan a estragón o anís. Y no se asusten por lo del anís--ese sabor muy particular que te gusta o no--el hinojo fresco no es tan fuerte ni definitivo. De hecho, viene de la familia de verduras aromáticas, Umbelliferae, y es un primo del eneldo, zanahoria, cilantro y perejil. Prolifera la cocina italiana y francesa y es maravilloso con pescado como salmón; cordero; caramelizados en el horno; sopas cremosas; o hasta comido crudo en tiras como el apio. Para partir, recomiendo probar esta receta que usa la técnica en papillote-- carnes/pescados y verduras se cuecen al vapor en paquetes de papel de mantequilla en el horno. Aquí el hinojo se encuentra con quizás su mejor combinación: la naranja. Con unas papas doradas y crocantes al horno no hay donde perderse.

Salmón en Papillote con Hinojo y Naranja (1 porción)

1/3 taza cortada en juliana de cada verdura:hinojo fresco, puerros, zanahoria;

1 cdta. Sal; 1/8 cdta. Pimienta negra fresca; 1/8 cdta. Semillas de cilantro molidas;

200g de filete de salmón sin espina y piel;

1 naranja cortada en trozos sin médula;

1 cda. Vermouth seco (opcional)

Cortar una tira de papel de mantequilla (unos 50 cm) y doblar a la mitad por el ancho. Cortar un “corazón” de esto. En medio de un lado del corazón colocar las verduras en juliana rociando con sal y pimienta. Colocar el salmón y sazonar con sal, pimienta y cilantro y luego la naranja y el vermouth encima. Doblar la otra parte del corazón sobre el pescado para alinear los bordes y formar un paquete, traslapándolos como si fuera una empanada (esto es para mantener los liquídos que salen en la cocción adentro). Hornear a 220 C por 15 minutos. Para servir, cortar un “x” con tijeras en medio del corazón para dejar escapar los aromas y abrir facilmente.

Por Liz Caskey

Con miles de kilómetros de costa, siempre me sorprende escuchar que los chilenos son más carnívoros que “marisqueros”. Me suelen decir que tiene que ver con pura economía, ser una cosa de “verano” en la costa, o no saber preparar bien los productos. Vaya, vaya...cocinar mariscos es de lo más fácil, pero sí hay que darle cierta atención para no pasarse de cocción (tendencia habitual a la hora de los clásicos asados). Para comenzar a navegar los mariscos, recomiendo partir por el más conocido y abundante--no sólo en Chile sino en el mundo entero--el Choro. Aquí reinan los choros cocidos al vapor en vino blanco y hierbas. Delicioso y rotundo—pero, por qué no jugarse a otro plato entretenido, un poco exótico, tocando lo aromático y lo sensual, convirtiendo un marisco pedestre en una estrella culinaria. El curry verde tailandés de choros hace justamente esto. Es uno de mis platos favoritos, con aromas vigorizantes de limón sutil, lemongrass, coco, hojas de kaffir y por sobre todo, es fácil de hacer. Demora exactamente 10 minutos de comienzo a fin y gracias a la incipiente relación de libre comercio con Asia Pacífico puedes encontrar todos los productos ahora en los supermercados grandes. Rápida, divertida y exquisita, con un Chardonnay fresquísimo como el de viña Catrala 2004, el plato se convierte de lo común a una revelación.

Choros cocido al Vapor de Curry Verde

2 cdas aceite de canola; 1 tallo lemongrass fresco; 3 cdas pasta de curry verde; ½ taza de vino blanco seco; una lata de leche de coco; 2 cdas de salsa de pescado thai; 2 cdas de limón sutil; 4-5 hojas kaffir (opcional); 1 kilo de choritos; 2 cdas de cilantro picado; 4 cdas de albahaca picada.

En una olla, calentar el aceite. Cuando esté brillante, agregar el lemongrass fresco, pasta de curry verde, leche de coco, salsa de pescado, jugo de limón sutil y hervir revolviendo. Agregar los choros, cubrir la olla con una tapa y dejar cocer al vapor hasta que se abran, 5-7 minutos. Durante el último minuto de cocción, agregar el cilantro y la albahaca. Servir en bolls individuales, descartando el lemongrass y hojas de kaffir.

I am sitting here about to kick the rest of what is in my decanter: a 2002 Clos des Andes I recently brought back from another trip to Mendoza, Argentina. I must confess: I am utterly smitten with Argentina and many of its wines. They are totally different than Chilean wines and you quickly learn that Malbecs come in all styles, terroirs, and sizes and there are other great wines (like sparkling wines, torrontes, and some good Chardonnays) that are severely underrated and downright unknown outside Argentina. Each bottle has been this lovely little surprise and I have rediscovered that that lovely attribute in wine known as elegance, balance, know-how, and price-quality ratio still can be found in many Argentinean wines (disclaimer: all wines I have been drinking are in the US$20-25 range). Anyway, here is the pour on what I have had in my glass since I got back on Friday from the other side of the Andes!

INFINITUS: Merlot Gran Reserva 2002

Hold your horses and try not to be judgmental before sipping-this is not your average Merlot. First things first--this Merlot is coming from the far southern reaches of the Argentinean Patagonia in the cool wine region known as Nequén. The direct investment of one of the old school wineries in Mendoza combining French elegance with new world terroir, Fabre Montmayou, the Infinitus winery looks to beat out the clichés associated with this grape. Since the temperatures are cool and sunlight shorter, they deleaf the vineyard and perform a green harvest manually to get the berries to their optimum ripeness and concentrate that "terroir" character. Harvest is careful, hand-picked into small cases and sorted manually before a cold maceration prior to ageing in French oak for 12 months.

My thoughts: think wild berries, dark French chocolate (85%), and a touch of cinnamon or black pepper spiciness. It had an almost inkiness to its color and the most profound memory of this wine was the dark chocolate lingering on the back of the palate (we tried with real dark French chocolate to verify). We decanted before making dinner and the wine didn't really start to reveal itself for at least 2 hours. 2002 is young, almost infanticide, but it made us savor and rethink Merlot. I am a believer.

CLOS DES ANDES: Malbec 2002

I will confess that this was a whimsical purchase. We were in this very hip wine shop in downtown Mendoza city, Marcelino, when one of the owners, Federico, appeared to help us in our usual indecision as to which wine to buy for pre-dinner sipping. We bought it and ironically didn't end up opening it that night so we brought it back to Chile. For some reason, we were under the impression that it was going to be a lackluster wine, TOTALLY NOT the case!

To give some background, Clos des Andes, is a joint project between Bodega Poesia with the cooperation of some collaborators from Bordeaux like Helene Garcin and Patrice Leveque (Clos L Eglise, Pomerol), Chateau Barde-Haut (St Emilion Grand Cru), Chateau Haut-Bergey and Chateau Branon (Pesac Leognan). The vineyard dates back to 1935 (average vine age of 70+ years), all premium Malbec. So the basic equation we are dealing with can be boiled down to old vines, excellent Mendocino "terroir", plus that French know-how which equals wines with character that speak of a place and jaw-dropping elegance and quality.

My thoughts: Right on Federico with the rec, it really blew me away! This wine is elegant, complex, and delicious but not overpowering nor overconcentrated and extracted. It is one of those wines that for me speaks to that larger concept of a flavor and terroir, not a grape variety. It is well balanced, long, soft tannins, absolutely lovely and quite frankly, to my dismay, disappeared all to quickly (I was sharing the decanter with my significant other). For US$20, buy a case and the rest is history.

More to come on Argentina and its inspiring wines...