A classic Chilean lunch: Porotos granados, pollo asado and cebollas escabeche.

Making this meal actually started a few months ago.  One of my favorite memories of Chile was spending time at the market in Temuco where you can walk around and find Cebollas Escabeche in bulk: 

These red-wine vinegar pickled onions were one of my favorite snacks and I had been thinking about making them.  So I did:

All you have to do is quarter a medium sized yellow onion almost all the way through and skewer each quarter through the center with a knife.  Place them in a jar with a nicer red wine vinegar and let them soak in a cool dark place.  They can be eaten from a few weeks to a few months.  I am just finishing the first batch I made almost 6 months ago.

Traditionally, you eat Cebollas Escabeche dipped in salt as a condiment to go with a corn and bean stew called Porotos Granados.  Right now in Seattle the most accessible fresh beans I was able find were fava beans.  I would also use lima or navy beans.  Here is the recipe for about 4 servings:

Porotos Granados:

3 tbsp olive oil
4 coarsely diced garlic cloves
1 medium chopped onion
2 red fresno peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 med chopped tomato
3 ears of corn on the cob, kernels cut off of cob
2 1/2 lbs fava beans pods, removed from pod and removed radicle (the little embryonic stem)
1/2 kobocha squash (or other green skinned, orange flesh winter squash
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp kosher or sea salt
4 pinches of fresh chopped cilantro (or basil) for garnish

Sweat the onion, garlic, peppers and cumin in olive oil with a little salt over high heat until fragrant.  Add the tomato until it starts to fall apart a little bit.  Add the corn and stir well.  Add the beans and stir well.  Add the squash and stir well.  Cover with boiling water and stir, then lower heat to medium-low.  Stir occasionally until beans  and squash are soft, about 25 min.  Garnish with fresh cilantro.

I served this with 1/2 a broiled chicken.  Just rub the halved chicken with olive oil and liberally apply salt and pepper.  Place in the center rack of the oven on a baking tray, skin side down at 325* F until almost fully cooked.  Then flip and turn on the broiler until the skin gets crispy and a little charred.

All you need now is to put out your Cebollas Escabeche with salt for dipping and a little pebre (hot sauce with cilantro, oilve oil and finely minced garlic) for the chicken.  Now there is a CLASSIC Chilean lunch.  Grab yourself a nice bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and you might as well be in Chile!

2009 Burgans Albariño Rias Baixas DO

Appearance:

Clear, transparent, low + intensity, straw color w/ green flints, low + viscosity.

Nose:

Clean, high intensity, citrus: key limes, stone fruit: tart nectarines and plum, tropical fruit: mango, and green apples.  Inorganic earth: chalk, granite and chalkboard.  No noticeable wood.  Lots of aromatics, white flowers, lilies.

Palate:

Clean, med acidity, low alcohol, no tannins, med - body, med + length on tongue, Green apples, plum and tart plum skins, tropical fruit.  Earth: well-structured inorganic minerality: chalk and granite.  No noticeable wood.

As the wine open up and warms up a little, I am wondering if this wine did see a little oak aging.   All of the incredible aromatics of a stainless white wine are there, but it develops that body on the tongue that a little oak can bring out in a white.  With that, there is still very little oak influence on the palate.

This albariño is one of the most balanced I've had, with acidity, lush mouthfeel and incredible aromatics!  Awesome! My new favorite albariño.  This wine is part of the Eric Solomon portfolio.