I love roasted vegetables – especially in winter – and I have quite a crop of squash from the summer to eat up. This is a beautiful winter recipe and sure to be a crowd pleaser. I also love fennel and think that it is terribly underused. It is a perfect New Year’s Eve dish and terrific with wine! Play with several and see which you like best paired with it.
This comes from the book The Earth Bound Cook by Myra Goodman. I really love this book – but then again I have an insatiable cookbook addiction.
THE RECIPE
serves 8 to 10
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, pelled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2- inch dice (about 6 cups)
3 large fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups), fronds reserved
3 crisp apples such as Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup dried cranberries, preferably organic
1/2 cup (4 ounces) finely minced pancetta (optional)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped reserved fennel fronds or fennel pollen
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the squash, fennel, apples, cranberries, and pancetta, if using, on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Place the olive oil and maple syrup in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat. Add the thyme and fennel fronds, and season with coarse salt and black pepper to taste. Spread the mixture out. Do not crowd the vegetables as this will cause them to steam rather than brown – use two pans or cook in batches if necessary.
5. Roast the vegetables until they are lightly caramelized and tender, 30-45mins. As they are roasting, shake the baking sheet or stir the vegetables occasionally so they develop a crisp crust on each side.
6. Transfer the vegetables to a warmed platter and serve immediately.
7. Refrigerate leftovers, covered for up to 3 days. Reheat over low heat or in a microwave before serving.
Just wanted to wish everyone a really nice holiday and hope that you share many toasts.
That is Melissa in the middle : )
November 30th, 2010
We finally made it through harvest, with our last grapes coming from Riverbend Vineyard November 6th. The seasonal changes in the vineyard have been fantastic! It didn’t freeze until late in November, allowing vine foliage to change from green to golden amber before the cold and wind forced the leaves to the ground.
Golden Chardonnay
Merlot just starting to turn color
Nesting for winter
Native fall Chinook returned to spawn this fall, and for nearly 2 weeks we watched female salmon protect their redds (nests) as males fought for the right to fertilize the eggs. We counted nearly 30 fish alone in the stretch next to the vineyard. A magnificent show!
Salmon Spawning
Chinook
To date we find the vineyard covered with snow. The vines have fallen asleep for the winter, and wines have been tucked into barrels for a rest. We have several tastings occurring throughout the holiday season – be sure to follow us on facebook for details or contact us to visit the winery. Also watch for more yummy recipes to appear, and thanks to Beth for the fantastic soup suggestions. Happy Holidays!
First snowfall of 2010
Its snowing! I know not everyone is excited about this – but I AM! I love the snow. Everything about it – the drama, the drear, the stillness, and even the shoveling. Enough, I could go on but I will spare you. What I really wanted to share is a beautiful soup recipe that is perfect for a snowy day, great for something light after the crazy Thanksgiving smorgasbord and, I would argue, tough enough for a red wine – particularly our Syrah or if you think it might be too much for the full red, the Rose of Syrah. The recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs – Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks. You must check it out! The recipe is from the website and is linked above too:
“I [Heidi Swanson] made my own tweaks to Anna’s soup, and my version is as follows. The main difference was that the soup was so pretty after cooking (see photos), that I decided not to puree mine at the last minute. But I did puree the leftovers (also delicious!), just a different soup altogether. It’s up to you really. Anna also mentions that she sometimes adds a bit of miso or tamari at the very end to deepen the flavor, but you should add it sparingly, and taste as you go.
1 large yellow onion (250g)
2 tablespoons (30 ml.) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 large sweet potato (12 ounces; 350 g)
1 large leek, white and light green parts (5 ounces; 140 g)
1 bunch spinach (8 ounces; 225 g)
1 large bunch green chard (12 ounces; 350 g)
3 tablespoons (30 g) chopped fresh ginger, plus more to taste
2 cups (500 ml) good-tasting vegetable broth
2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
Chop the onion and cook it slowly in the olive oil with a sprinkle of salt, stirring now and then, over low heat until it is soft and golden, about half an hour.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the sweet potato and put it in a large soup pot with 4 cups (1 liter) water and a teaspoon of sea salt. Thoroughly wash the leek, spinach, and chard, chop them coarsely, and add them to the pot, along with the chopped ginger.
Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely tender. Add the caramelized onions when they are ready. When the vegetables are soft, add the vegetable broth (you can add less if you like a thicker soup) and decide whether you want your soup chunky, like this, or smooth. If the latter, puree the soup in a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender until it is smooth.
Stir in 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste, and correct the seasoning with additional salt or lemon juice.
Serves 5-6.
This recipe was adapted from Love Soup by Anna Thomas. Published by W. W. Norton & Company; September 2009. For those of you who want to get books signed, Anna is visiting quite a number of California book stores throughout October and November, more info here.”
This is from a beautiful book I got as a gift from my friend Laura. The cookbook is Clean Food. My favorite part about this book is that it is divided by season. This is one of the yummiest Winter soups I have tried so far. I have read that many dishes with thai spices including lemongrass and using coconut milk pair nicely with wines that are a little sweeter like a Riesling, and I think that our Riesling would be divine with this – but I didn’t have a bottle to try with this recipe. I have also read that Rose can be a nice pair with thai spices and I think that our 2009 Rose of Syrah worked beautifully.
Spicy Coconut Pumpkin Soup
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 large butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded and cubed
2 cups coconut milk
5 cups water or vegetable stock
6 lemongrass stalks (bottom 5 inches only), chopped
1 1-inch piece of galangal, peeled and chopped
4-5 dried Thai chiles, quartered
4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped scallions
In soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute garlic, onion and ginger in 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil until soft. Add squash, coconut milk, and water or stock. Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until squash is soft.
Meanwhile, in small skillet over medium heat, saute chopped lemongrass, galangal and chiles in remaining tablespoon of grapeseed oil until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
Using handheld blender, puree soup until smooth. Stir in lemongrass mixture and kaffir leaves. Simmer 15 minutes to infuse soup with spices. Pour through a mesh strainer and serve topped with chopped scallions.
Serves 8.
yum.
Nothing like the sweet nectar of Riesling! We’ve been picking our estate Riesling over the past few days, with one more ton to pull off over the next couple of days. Last year we let our Riesling hang until mid-November for our 2009 Late Harvest Riesling. This year’s cooler season made a late harvest unlikely, so we are picking it for a table wine. We whole cluster pressed these grapes, meaning the grapes were dumped directly into the press without being destemmed or crushed first.
Filling the press.
A hint of summer still lingers in the vineyard, making for beautiful days of picking. We only have our cabs left to pick, and it looks like they are still a couple weeks out. The weather has definitely been on our side this fall, allowing everything to ripen throughout the vineyard. This hasn’t been true for the entire Northwest, so we are lucky. One more reason why the Lewis Clark Valley is such a great place for growing grapes!
Our Riesling pickers (left to right): Bryant, Max, Massu, and Dolce
Grape pickers Cart, Mike, and Aileen
We had a beautiful day picking Merlot this past Saturday! The temperature was in the high 60’s and the sun shown on us all morning. The grapes are now bubbling their way to a delicious red wine.
Merlot Grapes
Once again, Carol found the “Star Clusters” of the day.
Julianne and the Star clusters
Much thanks to the Tolman Family, Cart, Justin, and my parents for their help.
Today was beautiful! A group of about 25 or 30 people picking and processing and having a great time in the vineyards.
Carol won the award for most beautiful cluster of grapes.
Carol and the prettiest cluster of grapes.
The process seemed so fast and yet here I sit 8 hours later and we are still cleaning up. We had a fantastic barbeque we had for lunch from Lewiston’s own Lunch Box Deli & BBQ (delicious!!).
And had some lovely folks from Spokane come for a tasting. Another great couple from North Carolina too.
Tasting wines!
Check our facebook page for all the photos.
Crush is here! We processed our first batch of 2010 grapes, Merlot from Jessica Vineyard (West Richland, WA) this week.
Vivian and a giant Merlot cluster
Fermentation is underway, and within the next 10 days or so, we’ll have Merlot wine to press!
Fermenting Merlot, Day 2
We plan on harvesting our Chardonnay October 2nd-3rd, after which will closely follow our estate Merlot and Syrah from the Dallas Vineyard in Richland, WA. Other varieties are another few weeks out but are looking good.
Vivian doing a thorough sampling of Gewurztraminer
For those interested in helping out with the Chardonnay harvest this coming weekend, feel free to contact us at contact@colterscreek.com for details. It should be a fun event with lots of people, food, and of course, wine!
The days are getting shorter, the nights cooler, and the grapes sweeter! It’s time for us to start doing routine checks on the sugar, acid, and flavor factors of the grapes. This is exciting time of year…the grapes change almost daily during these last few weeks of summer, and harvest is just around the corner.
Carol and Dolce checking on the grapes.
Waiting for grapes to drop.
So just how do we measure these values? We start by running around the vineyard, collecting random clusters for each variety. We usually shoot to collect 1-2 gallons grapes per acre for each sample.
Removing clusters for analysis.
Once we’ve collected our sample, we dump it into a bucket and start pressing them by hand. Each variety is analyzed separately as they ripen at different times, are harvested at different dates, and are processed individually. A juice sample is drawn from the crushed grapes. We measure the titratable acidity (or the detectable acid) with a simple acid-base titration. The sugar is measured using a refractometer. For red grapes, we shoot for sugar levels between 23-25 brix (roughly % sugar); for green grapes (white wine grapes), anywhere between 21-24 brix, depending on the variety.
Testing the sugar level of the Merlot sample. This sample was 18.4 brix.
The last factor, flavor, is up to the winemaker! If it tastes good on the vine, it’s probably close or ready to be picked. Because these 3 tools are vital to picking your fruit at the optimal time, we measure them at least 1-2 times per week throughout ripening.
Our first harvest is projected to take place September 25th-26th. We will be processing 7-8 tons of our estate Chardonnay. Look for upcoming posts with details of picking opportunities – come join in on the harvest fun!
