Lubyee Bi Lahmi + Château Musar Jeune for #winePW

Wine Pairing Weekend - #winePW - happens on the second Saturday of the month. And this month I'm hosting. "We're celebrating the new year with a new country, new varietal, or new vintner," I wrote in this month's #winePW invitation (click to read the invitation: here).

Here's what the #WinePW Bloggers poured...
These are listed alphabetically by post title and I'm excited to see new vintners, new countries, and wines from Turkey, Croatia, and even Lebanon.

• A New Vintner for #WinePW by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Exploring English Sparkling Wine by Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Something New for #winePW: Faire la Fête + Dinner to Go by Pull That Cork
• It's Time to Wine Something New by Dracaena Wines
• Lubyee Bi Lahmi + Château Musar Jeune by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Middle Eastern Chicken Orzo and Croatian Wine by Cooking Chat
• Out with the Old, In with the New by Rockin Red Blog
• Wine and Dine: Turkish Wines and Zucchini Patties with Feta by Grape Experiences

In My Glass

When I was trying to decide what to pour and pair, I came across wines from Château Musar, a Lebanese winery in Ghazir, Lebanon. The winery is located about 15 miles north of the Beirut while the Musar grapes grow in the Bekaa Valley, located about 25 miles east of the city.

Given that Middle Eastern wines have never crossed my radar before, they definitely qualified as 'new'!

Château Musar embraces a 'natural, non-interventionist wine-making philosophy' and their 2012 Musar Jeune Red is a blend from organically-certified vineyards. It's a blend of old vines, including Cinsault (50%), Syrah (35%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (15%).

In the glass, the wine has an alluring inky hue with an enticing smokiness on the nose. On the tongue there is a healthy concentration of spice and fruit with a crisp acidity and mild tannins. I decided that I would pair the wine with one of our favorite Lebanese dishes: Lubyee Bi Lahmi.

In the Middle of the Plate...

There's a story behind this dish for me...I told the boys: "This dish was one of your Daddy's favorites when he was little. And when Daddy and I were getting married, Aunt Jenn had a party for me...called a 'bridal shower.' She asked guests to give me copies of their favorite recipes. And because Grandma knew that Daddy loved this dish, she wrote out the recipe and sent it to me."

I've since adapted it and even made more adaptations for this dinner based on different version of Lubyee Bi Lahmi and what I had just received in our CSA box. I've always used chunks of meat. This time, I decided to try ground lamb. And I had a bag full of organic oyster mushrooms from High Ground Organics. So, I subbed those in instead of button mushrooms.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 2 C mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms, but feel free to use whatever you have)
• 1 C fresh tomato sauce
• 1/2 C red wine
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C organic beef stock
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 t fresh mint, chopped
• 1 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper

Procedure

In a large, flat-bottom pan, heat the olive oil and cook the onions until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add in the ground lamb and cook until fulled browned. Stir in the herbs and cinnamon.

Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook until softened and beginning to crisp. Pour in the tomato sauce, wine, water, and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors fully meld. Add in the green beans and cook until the beans are just beginning to soften.  You don't want them mushy! It should take approximately 6 or 7 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over a bed of brown rice.

Join the #winePW conversation: 

Follow the #winePW conversation on Twitter throughout the weekend and beyond. If you're reading this early enough, you can join us for a live Twitter chat on our theme "It’s All New" on Saturday, January 9th, from 11 a.m. to noon Eastern Time.

And that's a Wrap...

...on our January #winePW event. My Lubyee Bi Lahmi + Château Musar Jeune pairing was delicious! I'll pin this recipe and other posts on my #winePW pinterest board. David, our group's founder, also has a Wine Pairing Weekend pinterest board. 

Stay tuned for the February Wine Pairing Weekend, which will focus Valentines. We'll be hosted by Christy at Confessions of a Culinary Diva. Stay tuned for her invitation.