Grilled Mole Marinated Steak Paired with 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera

When developing a recipe or wine pairing, much of the fun for me is found in discovering an inspiration for the meal.  In other words, finding a theme, purpose or other cohesive thought for the meal.  In this case, the motivation comes from the soon arriving Cinco de Mayo.

According to Wikipedia, “Cinco de Mayo is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla.  The date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico—which is actually celebrated on September 16.”

Imagine my shock when I read this and found that it was not a celebration concocted by Corona and Jose Cuervo!  Regardless of origin, Cinco de Mayo was the inspiration for this meal and pairing.  Chef Sue and I started throwing around ideas which were quite opposed.  I focused on coastal foods dominated by a variety of seafood, while Chef Sue went directly to the interior.  In the end, Chef Sue exerted her Alpha dominance and I conceded knowing that a return to Mexican inspired seafood will not be far away.

Chef Sue’s creation featured a mole sauce as the heart of the meal.  I love mole and was pleased with her decision.  On top of that, she executed the mole perfectly.  In my mind, preparing an exceptional mole is all about balancing the heat from the chile with the chocolate.  If either is out of balance, I would judge it as inferior.  Chef Sue’s recipe strikes the perfect balance.

To accompany the mole marinated grilled steak, we prepared grilled corn basted with a spicy cream sauce, asparagus grilled in a pouch with lemon and olive oil, and new potatoes boiled then tossed in olive oil and simply seasoned with salt and pepper.  In combination, this entire meal is a very simple preparation featuring the natural flavors of fresh vegetables with Mexican inspired sauces bringing focus to our culinary celebration.

The pairing for this meal was a bit of a challenge.  With grilled steak and mole at center stage, selecting a full bodied red was the easy part.  My concern came when considering the piquance of the mole.  I decided to go with a fruit forward approach and hopes of the fruit flavors balancing the heat while echoing the chocolate component of the mole.

My wine selection was the 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera.  In general, Barbera is an exceptionally food friendly wine with good acidity, low tannins, and flavors of raspberry, blackberry, cherry and vanilla notes depending on fruit yield and ripeness, oak treatment, and climate.

We found the 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera an excellent example of a classic Barbera.  It was wonderful.  It was beyond wonderful - I was simply gushing over this wine.  Here are the tasting notes from the winemaker:

“A full bodied red wine with intense raspberry, cherry and anise aromas and flavors. an overlay of vanilla precedes a direct and well rounded finish.  This wine is well structured and has good aging potential.”

I would like to say more, but these notes directly reflect our experience.  The intense fruit flavors were well balanced and a true joy.  Although the winemaker suggests this wine has good aging potential, it is drinking exceptionally well now.  Go ahead and try to keep it in your cellar for a while - I dare you!

I was exceptionally pleased with the pairing...the balance was perfect.  However, as we discussed the pairing, Chef Sue commented that the wonderful fruit flavors in the wine could have stood up to a more aggressive approach to the mole.  In other words, Chef Sue thought the wine would have complemented the mole with even more piquance and deep chocolate flavor.  I can’t disagree, but I was nothing but smiles with each sip and morsel.

Recipes

Mole

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 ½ medium onions
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sofrito (Latino soup base)
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 4 ancho chile peppers

Preparation

1. Halve the peppers and clear seeds.
2. Peel and halve the onions.
3. Halve the tomatoes.
4. Place all vegetables on a sheet pan and place under the broiler until skin on the peppers begin to char.  Let the peppers cool and peel the skin.
5. In a pot, add the chicken broth, sofrito, ancho peppers, salt and pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon hot chili pepper.  Bring to a boil.
6. When the stems of the ancho peppers loosen from boiling, remove stems.
7. Add broiled vegetables to the pot.  Continue to cook for 10 minutes on a low boil.
8. Pour ingredients of the pot into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips and blend to incorporate.  Adjust seasoning.
9. Marinate steaks in mole for at least one hour (up to 4 is best).
10. Reserve a cup of the mole for your dinner guests to use at the table.

Cream Sauce for Grilling Corn

Ingredients

• ½ stick butter
• ½ package of cream cheese
• pinch of hot chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Microwave butter and cream cheese 30 seconds at a time, stir and repeat until you have a paste.  Incorporate chili power, with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place corn on grill and baste exposed side with the sauce.
3. Flip corn and baste the other side.
4. Continue to grill until corn just begins to char.  Serve immediately.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Mole Marinated Flank Steak with White Wine Cilantro Sauce Over Celery Root Hash Paired with 2009 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Reserve Cabernet Franc

Are you a seasonal wine drinker?  I don’t mean seasonal in the sense that there is a season for drinking wine, but rather a season for drinking different types of wine?  I am a seasonal wine drinker.  Over time, I have found my tastes shifting with the seasons.  For example, summer is often filled with Sauvignon Blanc, dry Rieslings, and other light, acidic and refreshing wines.  Spring and fall tend toward medium bodied Chardonnays, red blends, and Pinot Noir.  During winter, I find myself drinking full bodied reds; Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, and hefty blends.

Although this winter was, and remains ridiculously mild (highs in the low 80s over the last couple of days), I remain in winter drinking wine mode.  On top of that, I still have a long line of “winter” wines reserved for wine pairings.  I have a lot of work ahead of me before winter is officially ended.  With this in mind, I donned my creative culinary tocque and was inspired to create a mole marinated flank steak with white wine cliantro sauce over celery root hash paired with a 2009 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Reserve Cabernet Franc.

At first blush, this appears to be an odd construction, but let me explain my thought process.  As you would guess, the flank steak with a mole marinade features deep rich flavors along with the contrast of strong piquance.  For additional balance, I decided to introduce some acid and brighter flavors.  A white wine sauce came to mind first, then I added the cilantro to further brighten the flavors while remaining consistent with the Mexican theme.  Finally, I completed the dish with a celery root hash.  I originally conceived this as celery root pancakes, but in the end went with a “looser” hash approach that worked nicely from a texture perspective.

Admittedly, these flavor combinations are difficult to get your head around.  Logically, it kinda-sorta-maybe-works, but up until plating time, I was haunted by fear that I was creating a colossal failure.  My fears were little more than creative insecurity.  The meal was fantastic, and the combination of contrasting flavors and balance worked better than I could have imagined.  Sigh of relief!

From the start, this recipe was conceived with the 2009 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Reserve Cabernet Franc in mind.  Here are some notes from the winemaker:

“This vineyard’s renown for Cabernet Franc rests on the most consistent critical acclaim for any varietal red wine produced in the Eastern United States, but to be fair, this distinction comes from the ground. We grow the most diversified array of Cabernet Franc clones in the region - 4 from Bordeaux, 1 from the Loire - offering a wine-making palette of matchless permutation and subtlety. At the same time, the vineyard has so well established our Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, that the Cabernet Franc Reserve is never less than the most elegant exemplar of the varietal in any vintage. The House red wine at The Inn at Little Washington, it responds to a knowing demand for a characterful, intriguing, and refreshingly well-bred wine for dining, and indeed for conversation with friends who delight in fine wine for its own sake.”

Tasting notes from the winemaker:

“Dark garnet core, brilliant clarity in the glass. Intense, effusively luscious flavors of ripe red berries with caramelised notes of fig, cherry, and plum, elegantly woven together in barrel. Long-finishing and tannically vivid, yet with a remarkably soft palate.”

I would be challenged to improve on these tasting notes.  I would only add that “tannically vivid” should be interpreted as you might expect - this wine is not a wilting flower.  And as the winemaker states, this wine is very drinkable now, will likely peak in 2013, and will sustain for another three to six years.  The boldness of this wine was perfect for the pairing.  A lesser wine would not have stood up to the piquance of the mole, and yet play a welcome complementary role to the brighter flavors of the white wine cilantro sauce.

I remain very impressed with each and every bottle I open from Barboursville Vineyards.  Their wines are available at their online store, and I encourage you to visit.

Recipes

Mole Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 ½ cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 ½ tablespoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped or shaved if you have a few extra minutes
• Sugar to taste

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, oregano, cumin and cinnamon - sauté until onion is almost tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Mix in chili powder and flour, stir for 3 minutes.
   Gradually whisk in chicken broth.
4. Boil until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium low.
5. Whisk in chocolate; season with salt and pepper, if desired.
6. Whisk in sugar as desired to reach a balance with the heat of the chili powder. This is a matter of taste. I used three tablespoons.
7. When cooled, the sauce will thicken.
8. Season a 2 pound flank steak with salt and pepper, then generously coat with the mole.
9. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The longer the better. If you have a vacuum sealer, this is the best approach (and the one I use for nearly all marinades).
10. Preheat your broiler for a few minutes, place your flank steak on a broiler pan, and sear both sides (3 to 4 minutes).
11. Slice into 1/4 inch strips across the grain.
12. Serve over celery root hash and top with white wine cilantro sauce.

White Wine Cilantro Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine (a wine with strong acidity like a Sauvignon Blanc is the best choice)
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (stems removed and finely chopped, leaves coarsely chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Add onion to preheated olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté until onions are tender.
2. Stir in garlic, wine, and cilantro stems, and continue for another 2 minutes over medium high heat.
3. Season to taste, add cilantro leaves and keep on heat for another minute.
4. Remove from heat and serve over flank steak.

Celery Root Hash

Ingredients

• 3 peeled celery roots
• 1 medium onion
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup matzo meal
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Preparation

1. Grate celery root and onion by hand or the grating blade of your food processor.
2. Place grated celery root and onion in a strainer to drain excess liquid.
3. Once drained, gently press out more of the liquid, add to a bowl with 4 beaten eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a coating of vegetable oil.
5. Spoon the mixture into skillet and turn occasionally to achieve a general browning.
6. To use all the mixture, you will likely cook several batches. You will need to add oil on occasion.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig