Skip to main content

The French Winophiles: Gravlax, Goat Cheese, & French Sorrel Stuffed Squash Blossoms + Patient Cottat Sancerre 2013 #winophiles

By

Welcome to the inaugural event for a new group - The French Winophiles - coordinated by Christy of Confessions of a Culinary Diva. Here's her initial plan...

We start with the Regions first and then move to the Appellations. The proposed schedule, based somewhat on the seasons is as follows:
  • June 20 - Loire Valley
  • July 18 - Provence or Corsica
  • August 15 - Southwest
  • September 19 - Languedoc-Roussillon
  • October 17 - Cote due Rhone
  • November 21 - Bordeaux
  • December 19 - Champagne
  • January 16 - Burgundy
  • February 20 - Alsace

Count me in! I'm not very well-versed in French wines. So I'm looking forward to researching the wines and creating some delicious food pairings.

To the Loire Valley
So, today, the crew is heading to the Loire Valley.

http://www.francetravelguide.com/loire-valley

The Loire Valley - southwest of Paris - was historically the stomping grounds of French monarchs and is renowned for its many vineyards. In fact, it's France’s third largest wine region and is the second largest region for sparkling wine, after Champagne, of course. 

The Inaugural Round-Up

 The Conversation
Join us for a live Twitter Chat Saturday, June 20th at 11 am EST/8 am PCT. You may join in the revelry by following hashtag #winophiles. Au revoir!

In My Glass...
  
Given the summer season, I opted for a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. This pale straw yellow 2013 Patient Cottat comes from fifty-year-old vines and is completely aged in tanks. Playful and medium-bodied, I detected intense aromas of citrus and grassiness with summery notes of melons and figs. And while there was a decided richness, it was simultaneously fresh and lively. What a treat!

On My Plate...


Gravlax, Goat Cheese, & French Sorrel Stuffed Squash Blossoms 
+ Patient Cottat Sancerre 2013

I knew that I had to make something with salmon to complement the citrus tones. I had originally planned to make bruschetta, but, when I was at the farmers' market this week and found squash blossoms, my mind was changed. One of the pleasures of summer is eating crisped stuffed zucchini flowers—the cheese and seafood ooze out of the thin, crisp fiori. I decided to try a baked version.


Ingredients

  • 3/4 C breadcrumbs (I used organic Panko breadcrumbs)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C cold sparkling mineral water
  • French sorrel leaves
  • 1/2 C soft goat cheese
  • sliced gravlax (though I ran out of time to make my own, here's one homemade version - absinthe-scented gravlax - just know you'll need about 3 days' lead time)
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 8 large squash blossoms

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place 2 eggs in a bowl and whisk. Put the breadcrumbs in another bowl.

Gently open the petals of each flower and carefully pinch out the filaments inside. Spoon some cheese onto a sorrel leaf and layer it with a slice of gravlax. Top with another sorrel and place it inside your squash blossom.


Twist loosely at the end to close. Dip each stuffed squash blossom in egg, then breadcrumbs.


Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy.


Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Labels:

Comments

  1. A Day in the Life on the FarmJune 20, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    What an elegant first course

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah | Curious CuisiniereJune 20, 2015 at 7:29 PM

    What a beautiful dish Camilla! I really need to try stuffing squash blossoms!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christy @ Confessions of a Culinary DivaJune 21, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I need to find squash blossoms so I can try this. The absinthe cured gravlax sounds so interesting too. Your wine sounds like one we would enjoy at our table. Thanks for joining in the journey!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Martin D. RedmondJune 21, 2015 at 7:17 PM

    OMG Cam! Your dish looks amazing (although I had to Google Gravlax)...And that Patient Cottat is a wine I've recommended more than a few times when I've done the SundaySupper pairings. Glad you enjoyed it! Wonderful post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RebekahJune 24, 2015 at 4:27 PM

    Completely gorgeous - what a beautiful meal!

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoanJune 24, 2015 at 7:28 PM

    Sounds delicious. My mother in law used to fry squash blossoms and they were delicious.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

By
This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...
5 comments
Read more

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

By
Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event."  Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry...
6 comments
Read more

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

By
If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce...
1 comment
Read more