Lorrie's Wine and Food World: Herbes de Provence Recipes and Wine Pairing Suggestions

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Herbes de Provence Recipes and Wine Pairing Suggestions

Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Ingredients

1 bag of Fingerling potatoes
2 tablespoons of good olive oil
Herbes de Provence (sprinkle to taste) http://www.vgourmet.com/
Sea Salt (sprinkle to taste)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Cut fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise. Put them in a baking pan, toss with olive oil, then sprinkle lightly with salt and Herbes de Provence. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, turn and bake another 15 minutes or until your desired level of tenderness.

This dish would pair well with a grilled steak, topped with a rosemary compound butter. A great wine recommendation for this steak and potatoes dinner would be 2008 Rodney Strong Estate Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. http://www.rodneystrong.com/

Herbes de Provence Pan Seared Salmon with Caper Sauce

4 salmon fillets
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Herbes de Provence (lightly sprinkled on each fillet)
2 ½ tablespoons of olive oil (reserve I ½ tablespoons for skillet)
½ of a lemon

Caper Sauce

1 cup of Mayonnaise

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon of small capers (drained of brine)

4 dashes of Tabasco sauce (or more to taste)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Rub fillets with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Place fillets in pan, skin side up, and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until edges turn golden. Then, turn over and cook for about a minute. Remove fillets from skillet and place in a baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Squeeze lemon juice on baked salmon fillets.

Caper Sauce

Preparation

Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers and Tabasco sauce, and serve in a pretty serving bowl.

I like serving this with herbed rice and a grape tomato and mixed greens salad. Wine Recommendation: 2008 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir http://www.davisbynum.com/

Lorrie’s Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 Roasting Chicken (size correlates with roasting time)
Sea Salt (to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste)
Herbes de Provence (to taste)
1 onion quartered ( I usually just use 2 quarters and save the other 2 quarters for another time)
1 stalk of celery quartered ,and 3 stalks of celery to form a rack
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 bay leaf
Olive oil (to rub over chicken)
1/2 cup of dry white wine (optional)

Cooking string

Note: This is a recipe that is rustic and you should season it to your liking.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Remove chicken parts from the inside of the chicken. Rinse chicken in cold water inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken all over, with a good olive oil. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence, and then do the same on the outside. Then put onion, celery, bay leaf and rosemary on the inside the chicken’s cavity. Take the chickens wings and tuck them back, and tie the legs together with cooking string. Place the 3 stalks of celery in the bottom of the roaster to create a rack, and add the white wine; this helps keep the chicken moist. Place chicken breast side up, bake in a covered roaster until the last 15 minutes of roasting time, then bake uncovered to brown. If you wish you may baste the chicken with melted unsalted butter to ensure the level of browning of your chicken. Chicken baking time is 15 minutes per pound. Chicken is done when pierced if the juices run clear. Average baking time is 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours depending on the size of you chicken and desired level of doneness.

I like to serve this roasted chicken with wild rice or parsley buttered potatoes and a green salad. An ideal wine pairing would be a nice French Rose` like Mas De La Dame Rose`du Mas or a rose` from Chile like Montes Cherub Rose` of Syrah.