Venezuelan Pepito, Guasacaca, Salsa de Ajo Paired with 2009 Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay

It is Sunday, my beloved Patriots are preparing to humiliate the Cowboys, and I am bringing you another great football food wine pairing.  This is my second pairing of Venezuelan street food and features one of the most popular street food sandwiches in Venezuela.  Next to the arepa (see my prior post “Venezuelan Arepas with Reina Pepiada and Pollo Mechado Paired with 2009 Benziger Family Winery Carneros Chardonnay”) and possibly empanadas, pepitos are the most common and favorite among those who love street food in Venezuela.

With sauces that typically include guasacaca (don’t you just love to say that?) and salsa de ajo (garlic sauce), this famous Venezuelan sandwich is full of well balanced flavor and a clear favorite of late night revelers in Caracas – and everyone in Caracas is a night owl.

Pepitos are constructed with either chicken or steak on a bed of lettuce and diced tomato in a hoagie like roll which is then topped with guasacaca, salsa de ajo, and other sauces such as ketchup and mayonnaise if you care to add them.  Other options include a slice of ham and a fried egg.  I prepared two versions with my favorite ingredients; both with guasacaca (come on, say it three times and smile) and salsa de ajo, one with the ham and egg, and one without.

Chef Sue was the only one in the house with first hand experience of a pepito.  The smile on her face was all I needed to know that I had faithfully recreated our fond adventures in Venezuela.  She was particularly impressed with how well I hit the mark with the guasacaca and salsa de ajo.  Success!

I paired our Venezuelan delight with a 2009 Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  We found this wine to offer complex aromas of citrus, pear, and lime with vibrant floral tones. The flavors echoed the aromas nicely with a nice touch of citrus, melon, butter and vanilla.

The pairing was a pleasure.  Who says street food is not up to a good wine pairing?  The 2009 Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay worked particularly well with the chicken and matched the body of the sandwich perfectly.  The citrus flavors complimented the acidity in the guasacaca nicely, and the creamy buttery finish left us hustling for the next delicious bite.

It is early in the day, so I expect you to make a quick trip to the grocery, gather your ingredients, pull a bottle of 2009 Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay off the rack, and settle in to cheer on the Patriots.  You should also repeat the word “guasacaca” a few times and nod your head toward Venezuela in acknowledgement of the creators of this wonderful sandwich.

Finally, I know I have some Venezuelan friends and readers.  I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on this pepito recreation.  I know you prefer a Polarcita and baseball with your pepito, but hey, the wine worked!

Recipes

Guasacaca

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, cleaned, deveined, and chopped 
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• A third cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup corn oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2. Continue blending and drizzle in the oil until fully combined and smooth.
3. Let stand and serve at room temperature.

Salsa de Ajo

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 green bell pepper cleaned, deveined and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 of a medium onion chopped
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
2. Salsa de ajo is best served from a squeeze bottle so you get a nice squiggly line of garlic goodness on top of your pepito.

Pepito

Ingredients

• 4 hoagie-type bread rolls
• 1 pound chicken breast cut in half crosswise then sliced into 1/4 inch strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (also known as salsa negra in Venezuela)
• Salt and pepper
• Shredded lettuce
• 1 diced tomato
• Guasacaca
• Salsa de ajo
• Crushed ruffles potato chips
• Four pieces of thinly sliced sandwich ham (one per sandwich - optional)
• 2 fried eggs per sandwich (optional)

Preparation

1. Over high heat, sauté the chicken until it about half cooked.
2. Add the garlic, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Construct the sandwich with a bed of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Add the chicken and drizzle with guasacaca and salsa de ajo. Top with crushed potato chips. Ruffles with ridges are standard in Venezuela.
5. Optionally, add a slice of thin sliced deli ham and two fried eggs. The hoagie rolls should be long enough to support two eggs.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Korean Tacos with Marinated Sirloin Cooked on a Himalayan Salt Plate Paired with Sauvignon Blanc

Chef Sue and I went shopping for a couple of kitchen gadgets yesterday, something I used to dread, but now enjoy almost as much as a good round of golf…almost.  One of the items on the list was a Himalayan salt plate.  If you are not familiar with a Himalayan salt plate, don’t worry.  I had no idea either.  Hey, Chef Sue said it would be cool, and I never argue when she wants something new for the kitchen.

The idea is simple and elegant.  Salt retains heat (or cold)…and of course is, um, salty.  Image a block of pure, unprocessed salt in a block (it looks like a slab of granite) roughly 1 1/2 inches thick, 10 inches wide and about 16 inches long.  For those mid-western hunters out there, don’t go out to the woods and retrieve the salt-lick you put out for the deer – not the same thing.  And besides, you don’t know what the deer have been doing with that salt.

Salt plates can be used to cook nearly anything and can be placed on the grill, on the stove top, or in the oven where they do a wonderful job of evenly distributing the heat.  You can also heat the salt plate in the oven and use it to do the cooking right on the dining room table as you would with fondue.  This was the approach we took for our Korean Tacos.

With our new Himalayan salt plate in hand, I was anxious to put it to work.  With the recent influx of Korean taco trucks, I was inspired to give crack at creating my own, and the salt plate seemed to be perfect for the task.  Or at least, the Korean taco gave me a good excuse to play with our new toy.

Korean tacos, from my experience, are simple and delicious.  Marinated and grilled or barbequed meat topped with a slaw dressed with traditional ingredients, and topped with pepper/chili paste or sauce.  My interpretation was easy, tasty, and a crowd pleaser.  I am not a connoisseur of Korean tacos, but the flavor was spectacular and I believe I came pretty close to this wonderful bite of street food.

Using the Himalayan salt plate in this preparation worked extremely well and served as a center piece for conversation as the dinner guests cooked the meat at the dinner table.  One of the lessons learned from this event included care in how long the meat stays on the salt plate.  If left too long, the salt flavor combined with the sirloin and marinade and tended toward to the too salty.  The key is to cook only the amount of meat necessary to construct your taco, then start over for the next serving.

The wine pairing for this dish was not planned.  From the time we picked up the salt plate, conceived the dinner, and sat down to eat was about two hours…and nobody thought about the wine.  We pulled a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc out of the rack and it worked well.  It was a cheap and cheerful wine but still had the characteristics for a good pairing.  The key to pairing with this dish is selecting a wine with light body, healthy acidity, and a touch of sweetness all intended to balance the piquance of the taco and condiments.

The next time I prepare this, I will choose another Sauvignon Blanc or a Riesling with medium acidity, bright fruit, and a touch of sweetness.

Recipe

Korean Sirloin and Marinade Ingredients

• 1 pound sirloin sliced thin
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 ounces mirin
• 2 ounces sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 scallions
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

Korean Slaw Ingredients

• 1/2 head of Napa cabbage thinly sliced
• 1 cup daikon, julienned
• 1 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 6 scallions, diced
• 3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• Juice from 1 freshly squeezed lime
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (or equivalent chili paste)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for Assembly

• 1/2 cup of marinade reserved as condiment
• Sambal oelek to taste as a condiment
• 8 tortillas

Preparation

1. Blend soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, scallions and ginger.
2. Reserve 1/2 cup of sauce and add to a sauce pan. Reduce by 1/2 then refrigerate for later use as a condiment when assembling the tacos.
3. Place sliced sirloin in a small container and add the sauce. Cover and refrigerate to marinade for at least one hour - the longer the better.
4. Prepare Korean slaw dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, mirin and sambal oelek.
5. Add Napa cabbage, daikon, spouts, scallions and cilantro to a large bowl and dress with slaw dressing. Toss to ensure uniform coating.
6. Place your Himalayan salt plate in the oven and slowly heat to 450 degrees. If you don't have a Himalayan salt plate, sauté sirloin in the marinade over high heat.
7. Carefully remove Himalayan salt plate from the oven and place in the center of the table. Allow your guests to cook their sirloin on the salt plate.
8. Assemble tacos with sirloin, a drizzle of marinade reduction, Korean slaw, and sambal oelek to taste.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig