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+--- Thread: Vegetarian recipie for Fine Bordeaux? (/thread-1346.html)
- wadingegret - 12-15-2005
I need suggestions for a vegetarian dish that will hold up and compliment a very nice Bordeaux (1985 Cos d'Estournel). This is a big robust red wine which one would normally have with hearty meat, but I am sharing it with a vegetarian! Any suggestions?
Thanks.
- robr - 12-15-2005
Does he/she eat cheese? Some vegetarians do. If so, I would think cheddar soup followed by a soy/mushroom based vegetarian meatloaf-cassarole type dish. If you serve a green salad don't use vinagerette or any vinegar based dressing. Opt for a creamy dressing, like beau cheese.
- dananne - 12-15-2005
As a veg myself, I'd have it with something like a wild mushroom risotto (esp. w/porcini mushrooms). The soy-based "meatloaf" suggested above would be an interesting one, too (or a bean and lentil loaf). I also have recently enjoyed Bordeaux with a vegetarian cassoulet (using a fake "sausage" substitute made by a company called Tofurkey that can be found in most supermarkets).
Hope the suggestions help. Let us know what you end up cooking and how the pairing works. Oh, and welcome to the Wine Board!
- Thomas - 12-15-2005
Grilled portobello mushrooms with slices of sweet red pepper, and dashes of crushed black pepper can do wonders alongside a Bordeaux or wines of Bordeaux grape blends. Lentil loaf is a really good pairing too.
That tofu faux-meat thing never made any sense to me--seems like admitting you want meat but not willing to eat the real thing, but then what do you expect from an ominivore like I [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 12-15-2005).]
- hotwine - 12-15-2005
Grilled portobello mushrooms can work well, too, as a sub for steak, the normal food pairing for a Bordeaux in our house. We marinate the 'shrooms in Paul Newman's Raspberry Vinaigrette and grill over an oak fire. Not nearly as good as BEEF, but not a half-bad sub as a veggie.
- wdonovan - 12-16-2005
Great thread. We're not veg-heads but we are Bordeauphiles (just made that up!) that eat vegs with other things (didn't want to say "meat" in an obviously antimeat thread). A porcini mushroom (bolete in Fr) makes me lose control much in the same way as hotdogs for Patty Duke. A great wild mushroom risotto will get my attention and guarantee I'll return to a restaurant to see some of their other offerings. Portabellos, ah yes, everyone knows them. The supermarkets have us to believe it's the only mushroom you'll ever need other than those pasty white ones in a can. I kind of got sick of them being served everywhere (and I mean everywhere). It almost seemed a proof of gourmethood (yup, made that up too) if you served portabello mushrooms. You didn't need much other great food. Just offering a thoughtlessly prepared portabello guaranteed your restaurant instant fame. But.... the treating of a mushroom like a steak, grilling it with marinade and peppers, that sounds yummy. Anyway, any other ideas? Can we keep this thread going a little longer? I'll throw in two grillable vegs that we've used. Zucchini and corn. The corn, soaked in it's husk, fur removed, grilled on the higher shelf in the bbq. Maybe not a Bordeaux pairing? Don't know. The zukes, quartered, basted with a little oil and sprinkled with creole seasoning, or any myriad of other "cooking dusts" can be great grilled. Who else?
- dananne - 12-16-2005
Speaking personally, the faux-meat thing serves two purposes in my house. First, it is a protein substitute for me, and believe it when I say that you can grow very tired of black beans and rice in a short time. Almost as importantly on a daily basis, it means that I don't have to prepare two seperate full meals because my wife is not vegetarian. So, if I'm grilling burgers for her, I can just toss a veggie burger on for me, and the sides can be the same. Then, we're essentially eating the same dinner. Also, it's important to remember that some people have a veg diet for health or religious reasons, so they may miss meat and want something that resembles (however remotely) food that they no longer eat or previously enjoyed eating. My last meal before becoming veg was a chili-cheese burger with chili-cheese fries and onion rings at an Atlanta diner and drive thru called The Varsity, and it would be enough to get anyone to become a veg [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img]
- Thomas - 12-16-2005
Dan: the chili-cheese fries alone would make me become a non-eater [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]
Donovan: grilled eggplants with a dusting of garlic infused olive oil (or is that a spraying) are also fine with red wine. In fact, I often do a complete grilled vegetable dish (on the smoker) of eggplant, potatoes, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, et al--fine with a solid red wine.
- robr - 12-16-2005
Just the thought of eating chili cheese fries makes me want to vomit. Sorry.
- hotwine - 12-16-2005
WDonovan, we frequently grill veggies with steaks, esp. zucchini and yellow squash (sliced lengthwise into 1/4" thick slices), small white onions, sliced bell peppers and mushrooms, all marinaded in Newman's Own Light Raspberry & Walnut. I do the steaks first, dusted with a dry rub of equal parts black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Then place all the veggies in a wire basket (to keep them from falling through the grill) and grill those over the dying coals. They don't take long and will burn easily if the fire is too hot. Turn everything once with a pair of tongs.
Begin with a spinach salad and finish with a couple of small squares of dark chocolate, and it's all tailor-made for a Bordeaux in this house.
- wadingegret - 12-16-2005
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. Grilled portobellos are out - my wife won't eat shrooms. The lentil loaf sounds interesting, though. I should have added that we plan to cap off the dinner with a 1977 Taylor-Fladgate port we have been saving. At least that will be easier to pair with a dessert!
Cheers!
- Thomas - 12-16-2005
Tell your wife the portobellos taste nothing like mushrooms and all like meat. Plus, they are not grown wild, so they have no dirt on them... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]
- stevebody - 12-16-2005
I used to make a lentil Wellington dressed out with a vegetable stock made with assorted mushrooms and white pepper along with the veggie trimmings that was close enough to beef stock to fool some people. The Wellington used pureed lentils with onions, Yukon Gold potatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, caramelized carrots, and fresh thyme, strained in cheesecloth and then wrapped in thin slices of Fontina before wrapping in the pastry. I used to serve it with Condado de Haza and it was pretty dashing...at least my customers thought so.
Try to get your wife to at least try a grilled Portabello, maybe with a Balsamic reduction. I bet she'd like it.
- wadingegret - 12-16-2005
Whoa! That Wellington sounds awesome, Stevebody. It's got the culinary wheels spinning in my head. Veggie Wellington or a faux beef stew, slow-cooked, possibly with tempeh, onions, potatoes, and celery root and thickened with a blended lentil base (or a black bean/Madeira reduction). Oh yeah!
- Thomas - 12-16-2005
Steve, that does sound good. I'm going to try it. I still eat meat, but I also eat less than I used to, and am always on the lookout for resonable vegetarian alternatives.
- wdonovan - 12-19-2005
Yup. Great thread.