Featured Wine
Recipe
Salmon with red wine sauce over quinoa (with green beans)
Quinoa
Totally cheated and used a bagged red, white and black quinoa mix. The brand was from Imperfect Foods, but Bob's Red Mill also has good quinoa. Follow package instructions, but i suggest using broth instead of water to give a bit more flavor.
Sauteed Green Beans
Trim fresh green beans and rinse, however much you think you'll need. Heat a sautee pan and add olive oil. Chop a small onion, or large shallot if you prefer a milder taste. When it is close to translucent, add 3 chopped garlic cloves. Stir for around a minute, then add green beans, moving them around so they're covered in oil and onion. Cook over medium heat until green beans are cooked to your liking. If more thoroughly cooked beans are wanted, add a splash of broth and quickly cover the pan to steam them while keeping most of the sauteed flavor.
Salmon with Red Wine Sauce
4 individual salmon fillets
2 tbs olive oil
1 shallot, minced
Italian seasoning
Black pepper
2 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbs heavy cream
3 tbs cold butter, cut into sections
On medium heat, add half the olive oil and the shallots, cooking until soft. Add black pepper, a dash of italian seasoning, red wine and balsamic vinegar. Turn to high heat and boil until reduced to roughly two tablespoons, which can take longer than 10 minutes (worth the wait i promise). Remove from heat and whisk in cream. Slowly add chunks of butter, making sure it melts between each addition. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you want to get rid of the bits of shallot and seasoning, strain through a cloth into a small bowl and keep warm.
In a large skillet, add the final tbs of oil until shimmering over medium-high heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper and add to pan, cooking until browned. Turn heat to medium and flip salmon, cooking through. Once the meat has turned opaque in the middle, cook another few minutes. It should break with a fork. Add a heap of quinoa and set a salmon filet on top. Drizzle sauce of salmon. Add green beans to and serve!
Wine
Red Arrow is the first featured wine of 2021! One of our newer wines, this Zinfandel is young but packed with flavor. It's a smooth fruity wine that, while dry, is not balked away from by the sweet drinkers that have tried it. Because of it's flavor and mouth feel, this wine can be paired with healthy foods, greasy pizza or decadent desserts.
Since so many want to eat healthier in the new year, this seemed a tasty recipe to start with. Yes there is a good bit of butter in the recipe, but a little bit of sauce goes a long way! The red wine is doubled up in this since we used it in the sauce as well as serving it with the salmon. This filling dish is perfect for date nights or a relaxing evening after hitting the gym for the first time in months (or years or ever).