Wine Down Wednesday – Black Bean Soup and Forbidden Rice with PARES BALTA Ros de Pacs and CRASTO Douro Red

 Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, High Protein, Main Meal, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian  3 Responses »
Apr 042012
 

Welcome back to Wine Down Wednesday where I review a vegan dish paired with two different wines. 
To pair wines with a meatless dish we consider the spices and main flavors of the recipe. For black bean soup we need a wine that nicely compliments Bragg Liquid Aminos, chili powder and cilantro.
The wines chosen to pair.
PARES BALTA Ros de Pacs 2011, (Penedes, Spain)
 PARES BALTA Ros de Pacs 2011, (Penedes, Spain), is a family owned organic winery about half an hour south of Barcelona.  The winemakers are two young women, Maria Elena Jimenez and Marta Casas.  Pares Balta has a National Park as part of its land holdings, the vineyard photo below is of a clearing in the park. Pares Balta has their own colony of bees to pollinate the vines and a flock of sheep to eat weeds in the vineyards and provide a natural compost. These vineyards have never seen chemicals.  I have decided I must visit this winery.  It is definitely right up my alley.  You go Maria and Marta.  Girl power!
A clearing at the winery – beautiful.

 

Parés Baltà

 

CRASTO Douro Red 2009, (Douro, Portugal)
CRASTO Douro Red 2009, (Douro, Portugal) is from Quinto do Crasto whose vineyard dates back to the 17th century.  A few of their grape varieties are soon-to-be organic!  The grapes are primarily farmed on these picturesque terraces.


The grapes are both fermented in this state of the art part of the winery and they also crush grapes the old fashioned way - by foot!  Because the foot has padding whereas stainless paddles don’t, it’s a much gentler way to extract the juice. 


My friend Gregg from Broadbent who is providing the wines.
A little yoga and wine.  Tough day at the office, poor guy.

As an update to two previous wine posts, I actually had the privilege of meeting Adi, the wine maker of the BADENHORST ‘Secateurs’ Chenin Blanc 2011, (Swartland, South Africa) and BADENHORST ‘Secateurs’ Red 2010, (Swartland, South Africa).  Gregg brought him to our yoga class and, amazingly, he held up pretty well – he didn’t pass out or leave.  We figure it’s because he must wrestle lions in Africa.

Nothing like a photo after a 90 minute heated power yoga class.
BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH FORBIDDEN RICE
Black bean soup is such a comfort food that you would never guess how healthy it is.  It is filling and flavorful with the saltiness from the Bragg Liquid Aminos (tastes like soy sauce), creamy cool avocado, and super fresh cilantro.  This is a SUPER simple recipe and, if using leftover rice, will take you less time than it takes to go get fast food. I love quick and easy meals! 

Categories
Category #1 – How well my dish turned out.
Category #2 – How well I like the wine.
Category #3 – Pairing notes – How well this wine pairs with the dish.

Rating Scale
Bleck -This wine is pretty bad.
Ho Hum- I could drink it if I was at a football game and there was nothing else in the cooler.
Nice -Good table wine. I would keep this in the wine cooler if it was a good value.
Yum – This is good, I would pay a fair bit more and have it for a special occasion.
Damn that’s Good – Self explanatory.
** The same terminology will be used to rate the dish and how well it paired. 

Category #1 – The Dish
Rating of Damn That’s Good
After my last experience with an E2 diet recipe, I knew I needed to add a little bit of fat.  I added a tablespoon or two of olive oil and added and amended a few ingredients.  The result was absolutely delicious.  I was unsure how the Liquid Aminos would taste in a black bean soup, but I loved the saltiness with the tang of soy.  The avocados and cilantro really cooled the soup down.  Next time I might actually make this spicy although this time I abstained because my three year old isn’t too keen on cayenne.  I added the forbidden rice because I had it on hand – it was perfect because it mirrored the hearty texture of the black beans.

Category #2 – The Wines

PARES BALTA Ros de Pacs

PARES BALTA Ros de Pacs -Rating of YUM.  It both looks and tastes like strawberries.  I LOVE the color – like cherry red lipstick.  It has a very light body and would be perfectly refreshing on a hot day.

Crasto Douro Red

CRASTO Douro Red 2009- Rating of YUM (but possibly higher if I was a “red” girl like I used to be.) I loved the color of this one as well – a deep purple/burgundy. My first thought was a really light port and come to find out, it is made from the same varieties that are used in a Port wine, but it is fermented dry and not fortified.

Category #3 – The Pairing
Rating of  Damn that’s Good for the Pares Balta highlighted the avocado and cilantro flavors and, during the meal the berry flavor intensified. It was really refreshing. 
Rating of YUM for the Crasto along with the black beans made me think of coffee, chocolate and mole sauce.  If you like a rich red wine, this is perfect.

Where to buy

All the wines will be for sale locally at the Grotto in San Marco. You can contact Mitch Woodlief, grottomitch@aol.com with questions and pricing and anyone outside the Greater Jacksonville area can contact E-MAIL: info@broadbent.com PHONE: US +1 415-931-1725.
Black Bean Soup with Forbidden Rice
Inspired by E2 Black Beans and Rice
Serves 4, 1/2 cup beans and 1/2 cup rice
Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups cooked black beans (of using canned, be sure to rinse and drain well) 
1 to 2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup canned, undrained fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp braggs liquid aminos or gluten free tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 cups cooked forbidden rice or brown rice

Garnish
1 avocado, seeded and cubed
Fresh diced tomatoes (from KYV farm)or extra fire roasted tomatoes
Lost of fresh cilantro (from KYV farm)
Fresh lime juice (about one lime)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a small pot, sauté onion about five minutes; add garlic, sauté an additional minute.  Add black beans, vegetable stock, tomatoes, liquid aminos and chili powder.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, or thickened to your taste.

2. Serve black beans over rice; top with 1/4 avocado, a dollop of diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving

Calories 394.5
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 566.7 mg
Potassium 362.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 70.1 g
Dietary Fiber 23.1 g
Sugars 2.6 g
Protein 15.1 g

Vitamin A 13.7 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 7.3 %
Vitamin C 24.9 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 4.6 %
Calcium 8.4 %
Copper 2.1 %
Folate 2.6 %
Iron 20.4 %
Magnesium 2.1 %
Manganese 6.7 %
Niacin 1.2 %
Pantothenic Acid 0.7 %
Phosphorus 2.4 %
Riboflavin 1.6 %
Selenium 1.0 %
Thiamin 2.0 %
Zinc 1.1 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Forbidden Rice and Indian Spiced Lentils

 Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Meal, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

Forbidden rice is a black/purple, nutrient dense heirloom rice – with lots of vitamins and amino acids.  But the real reason to try this rice is the taste and color.  When cooked it becomes a gorgeous dark eggplant color that makes a striking presentation, perfect for a special occasion.  I got this in the bulk bins at my local natural food store, Native Sun, for $3.89 per pound.  (Not bad when you consider how many people a pound of dry rice would feed.)The taste is nutty with a touch of natural sweetness and the texture is firm and dense – like that of sticky rice used in sushi rolls.  In fact, it is sometimes used as a replacement for the sticky white rice. 

If you can’t get your hands on forbidden rice, simply sub anything you have on hand.  It will still go perfectly with the warm, chewy lentils with that hint of aromatic curry.  Next time I will be making a double batch as I had this for lunch, dinner and lunch the next day.

Also on sale I found this interesting coconut vinegar.  Since I love all things coconut and have saved quite a bit since deciding to forgo meat, I decided to splurge and try it.  This is not necessary for this dish but I added a splash and really enjoyed the hint of coconut in the background.  Another thing you could try is to stir in a bit of coconut milk at the same time you add the parsley.  

Forbidden Rice with Indian Spiced Lentils

Slightly Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Serves 4
Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
3/4 of one onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 cup yellow split lentils (or any lentils you prefer), rinsed well
2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp coconut vinegar (optional)

Forbidden Rice

1 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup forbidden rice
1/4 of one onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat EVOO in a medium pot over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic; saute three minutes or so; add forbidden rice, broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 50 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

2. Heat EVOO in a second medium pot over medium high heat.  Add onion, saute about five minutes; add garlic and curry powder, saute 2 minutes; add lentils, broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until lentils are soft to your preference.  Remove from heat, stir in parsley and coconut vinegar.  Divide rice and lentils evenly into four dishes.  Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving

Calories 244.9
Total Fat 11.4 g
Saturated Fat 1.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 7.6 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 84.4 mg
Potassium 286.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 30.7 g
Dietary Fiber 6.0 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 7.7 g

Vitamin A 13.0 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 8.1 %
Vitamin C 21.2 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 7.3 %
Calcium 3.5 %
Copper 8.3 %
Folate 26.7 %
Iron 17.0 %
Magnesium 7.0 %
Manganese 19.4 %
Niacin 3.6 %
Pantothenic Acid 3.8 %
Phosphorus 10.8 %
Riboflavin 3.2 %
Selenium 3.0 %
Thiamin 7.1 %
Zinc 5.6 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.