Drinking organic wine: a pleasurable way to help protect your heart.
Cooking with organic wine: a quick way to add sophistication to any dish.
One of the easiest, but underutilized, ways to glaze meat, fish and seafood, salads and veggies, and desserts is to make a wine reduction sauce. As the name implies, you’re simmering wine over a low heat until it reduces by half and becomes syrupy:
- Pour 3+ cups of your favorite wine into a saucepan.
- For a savory sauce, add vegetables like chopped onion, celery and carrots. Add fresh herbs (thyme, bay leaf). For a sweet dish, substitute a few tablespoons of citrus zest.
- Place saucepan over medium heat. When wine begins to steam, reduce heat to low. Slowly simmer until sauce becomes syrupy.
- Press sauce through a wire-mesh strainer to remove solids. For savory dishes, add salt and pepper, to taste.
Here is Chef Emeril Lagasse’s super-easy recipe for Roasted Shallot and Port Wine Reduction Sauce, which he prepares in the oven. For a more adventurous option, try his Cedar-Planked Salmon with Washington State Merlot Reduction and Garlic Spinach.
Photos: Mattymatt, Ned Raggett
Follow me on Twitter: @BarbGoesOrganic
Tags: Organic Food, recipes, sauces, techniques, wine
