Perfect Pairings

CATEGORIES: Ecuador, Food & Drink, Guides, Latin America, Peru, Places, South America, Wine Guide

Ecuador

Text: Ernesto Trujillo

Seco de Chivo (Serves four)

Ingredients

• 1 kg goat meat, well cleaned
• 500 ml lemon juice
• 500 ml naranjilla (lulo) juice
• 500 ml beer
• 100 ml achiote oil
• 120 g garlic
• 20 g ground cumin
• 150 g red onion
• 80 ml tamarind paste
• 60 g fresh oregano
• 80 ml cane syrup
• One yunga or red chili pepper
• Two bell peppers, one red and one green
• Salt to taste

Directions

Marinate the meat in lemon juice for four hours. Rinse thoroughly. Puree the garlic, onion, tamarind paste, ground cumin, oregano, salt and achiote oil in a blender, cover the meat with this mixture and marinate for two more hours. Cook for an hour (in a pressure cooker, if you desire), then add the bell pepper, chili pepper (whole, with the seeds remove), cane syrup and naranjilla juice (you can substitute passion fruit or orange juice). Cook for an hour more and then add the beer. Continue to cook until the meat is very tender, adding water as necessary to keep the meat from burning. Serve with cooked yucca, vine-ripened tomatoes, pickled onions and, if you like, rice.
(Recipe from international chef Edgar León, owner of Estragón Restaurante)
Pairing

Morandé Edición Limitada Syrah / Montes Alpha Syrah, Chile
“Syrah can stand up to the flavorful meat,” notes María Cristina Jarrín, editor of Revista Vinissimo.

Trapiche Roble Syrah, Argentina
“This is a full-bodied wine,” Jarrín observes.

Pantoja, Malbec-Cabernet, Ecuador
This wine goes well “with a dish that has a lot of ingredients, including sweet cane syrup and savory seasonings,” Jarrín explains.

Peru

Text: Milagros Tuccio

Huatia Sulcana con Juego de Yuca (Serves two)

Ingredients

• 700 g leg of veal
• One red onion
• 150 g ají amarillo (yellow chili pepper) paste
• 200 ml chicha de jora or vinegar
• 50 g raw garlic, peeled and minced
• 50 g ají panca (red chili pepper) paste
• Half a bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander)
• Half a bunch of peppermint
• Maras salt (from Urubamba, Cusco)
• to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Veal broth
• Juice of two bitter oranges
• Three yuccas

Directions

Marinate the leg of veal for five hours in the herbs, minced garlic, chicha de jora (or vinegar) and chili pastes. Brown the marinated meat in a sauté pan and then add the marinade. Add the veal broth and the orange juice and simmer for 17 hours at 160º F. Remove the meat and place it in the oven to “varnish” it. Return the meat to the marinade liquids and cook over low heat until you get a reduction. Serve the de-boned veal bathed in the marinade sauce.

For the yucca side dish, each yucca must be cooked separately for seasoning and presentation. The first is prepared with the huatia (veal broth), which will make it brown in color. The second is cooked in chicken stock and then fried in olive oil. The third is marinated in the ají panca paste and then fried in olive oil. The three yuccas stand in contrast to the traditional yucca that is typically served with Huatia Sulcana.

(Recipe from Virgilio Martínez, chef and owner of Central Restaurante)

Pairings

Domus Aurea Cabernet Sauvignon – Cabernet Franc, Chile

“Highly recommended for its notes of black fruit and currant,” notes José Luis Valle, the sommelier from Central Restaurante.

Cadus Malbec, Bodega Nieto Senetiner, Argentina

“Wine needs to be aged in oak barrels in order to stand up to the intensity of this dish,” the sommelier explains.