Occasionally we find a pairing that simply makes the wine and food a treasured “Hand in Glove” experience. When we find these rare pairings we will post a companion page that provides the food recipe so everyone can experience these exceptional wine and food pairings.
Wine pairing: Reverdy Cuvee Ortus Sancerre 2012
Recipe:
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 large carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries (we used raisins)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water
1 cup couscous
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken pieces and eggplant in the heated oil; stir and cook until the chicken is browned on all sides but not cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Place the browned chicken and eggplant on the bottom of a slow cooker. Layer the onion, carrots, dried cranberries, and apricots over the chicken.
Whisk together the chicken broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, flour, garlic salt, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Pour the broth mixture into the slow cooker with the chicken and vegetables.
Cook on High setting for 5 hours, or on Low setting for 8 hours.
Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Stir in couscous, and remove from heat. Cover, and let stand about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
Comments: This was the first time we tried this recipe and we used a coated iron dutch oven instead of the Slow Cooker or Crock-Pot specified in the recipe. We also substituted raisins for the cranberries, but next time will use the cranberries. This is also the first time we had the Reverdy Cuvee Ortus Sancerre and didn’t realize it would drink more like a Chardonnay than a Sauvignon Blanc. In the end the tastes and textures of both the food and wine went together perfectly and it turned into a memorable wine pairing dinner.
Recipe source: Allrecipes.com