CHEFS AND WINE IN COOKING RECIPES
This is a topic that with Giovanni Scarchilli who left us a year ago (on his way to heaven), was a topic of discussion, and for which we had committed to creating a small in-depth course with the Chefs. And in his memory we will try to make it happen.
The nectar of Bacchus enhances the flavors in all types of dishes, and once you know some basic rules on how and when to add it, you will find yourself using wine in the kitchen more than you might think. Wine is ideal for enriching the steaming broth for a pot of mussels, for making a sauce for a seared steak, for flavoring a slow-cooked onion jam or for dipping some strawberries for a quick and easy dessert.
One of the main reasons to cook with wine is because it adds acidity to a dish, which in turn enhances other flavors. But because wine also contains alcohol, it is usually added at the beginning of cooking so that the alcohol has a chance to burn or, better yet, evaporate. Splashing wine on a dish at the end of cooking usually produces an unpleasant, raw wine flavor. And warm temperatures accentuate acidity and alcohol, which makes it even more difficult to use wine well.
Not all wines are suitable for all foods; a very tannic red, for example, would become chalky in a pan reduction sauce. Learning to manage wine and heat, as well as learning which wines work best in the kitchen, opens up many new cooking possibilities.
The first thing to know about cooking with wine is that heat will not enhance the undesirable qualities of bad wine but will accentuate them. Heat kills the subtle nuances in complex wine, so you can use leftovers from a special bottle but the subtle flavors tasted in the glass will not survive cooking. Young wines with bright fruit notes add the best flavor. Red, white or rosé, young wines with bright fruit notes work best. It is also recommended to use dry red wines such as Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, lighter Cabernet are all good.
For the best flavor and to ensure the alcohol is cooked out, timing of when to add wine to a dish will vary depending on the dish you are making. For stews, braises, or slow-cooked tomato sauces, add the wine at the beginning of the simmer, after browning the meat and vegetables. Let the wine reduce a bit and then add the other liquids. Some cooks add a splash of red wine toward the end of cooking to enrich a slow-cooked tomato ragù, but only if the wine is top-notch. Pan sauces call for wine after the meat has been set aside to rest.
In risotto, wine should be added after the onions are soft and the rice has been added and lightly toasted in butter. Only in some cases is raw wine allowed: in cold preparations, where the cold softens the alcohol level. Raw wines also work well in marinades, of course, where the marinade can then be used as a base for a cooked sauce. Sweet wines should be cooked rarely: the sugars tend to intensify in that case and the pleasant, scented nuances will be killed. This is why it is preferable to add it towards the end of cooking to preserve its subtleties. The reverse of the Medal of wines in cooking are cooking wines are obtained with the addition of salt, taste them and you will see for yourself what a horrible recipe you will get with their use.
If you have any questions write to me
canada@onav.it