Wine and food pairings 15: Southwestern-style stew with guacamole and pico de gallo
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
The Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with a Southwestern-style stew, made with odd cuts of beef and pork.
The pandemic left me with some odd meat in the freezer – a package of beef short ribs with just three ribs, and what are you supposed to do with just three short ribs? There were also two of the saddest thinly sliced pork chops on record, maybe one-quarter of an inch thick at the thickest.
In other words, nothing I could make by itself that would actually be worth eating. So why not cook them together?
And the blog’s Southwestern-style stew was born.
Obviously, you can make this with just short ribs or just pork (shoulder, certainly) or even beef chuck, but it turned out exactly as I hoped. What makes this work is turning the pan drippings into a gravy with an immersion blender. You don’t lose any of the flavor and there’s no sauce-making aggravation.
I served the stew over Israeli couscous and topped each serving with a scoop of pico de gallo and guacamole. Store bought is OK, but it’s better and not that much work to make your own.
Click here to download or print a copy of the recipe. What wines to pair? Fruity reds to stand up to the spices, plus rose, because that’s one of the things rose does so well:
• Henry Fessy Gamay Noir 2020 ($12, purchased, 13.5%): I served this with the stew and it was spot on. This vintage is a little spicier and less ripe than the 2019, but still well done and enjoyable, with quality red fruit. Imported by Louis Latour
• Santa Julia Malbec Organica Rose 2020 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): This Argentine pink, a long-time blog favorite, is as it always is — crisp, a bit tart, a bit stony, and with strawberry fruit. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.
• Funckenhausen Red Blend 2020 ($15/1-liter, purchased, 13.9%): Funckenhausen, an Argentine producer, does several 1-liter wines made for everyday drinking. And it’s not damning with faint praise to say this wine, mostly malbec, is not the best; rather, it’s still professional and well made and perfect for this dish. Some berry fruit, a little tart, and not too soft. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers
Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post.
More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 14: Mom’s chicken parmigiana
• Wine and food pairings 13: Crawfish etouffee
• Wine and food pairings 12: Hot dogs
Photo: “Artus Wolfaerts – Man Cooking Sausages” by irinaraquel is licensed under CC PDM 1.0
Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0