TALKING WINE

Talking Winewith Moira Carmenate, Expat Lifestyle Editor

DRY JANUARY? - Alcohol free wine

It’s January and you may be planning on having a “dry January” as one of your New Year’s Resolutions. If a lovely glass of wine is your tipple, you will be pleased to know that alcohol free wines have now joined the ever growing and extensive range of alcohol-free drinks.

I hear you say – “hey, if you take the alcohol out of wine, doesn’t that mean it’s grape juice?”, just like the drinks we used to give our kids, so they didn’t feel left out when the adults were having a party.

The process of making alcohol free wine is similar to the making of normal wine. The grapes are harvested from the vineyard, taken to the winery, and sorted, removing poor quality or under-ripe grapes. They go through the same fermentation and aging process as wine with alcohol. The alcohol is removed at the final stage, either through distilling the wine or by filtering the wine, but regardless of method, the flavour of normal wine is retained.

Now that you know it’s not like the grape juice we gave the kids, you can give it a try.

Win Sparkling Verdejo Non Alcoholic Wine Specialty Wine /0% ABV / Castilla y Leon, Spain Freixenet Alcohol Free Sparkling Rose Win Non-Alcoholic Tempranillo Specialty Wine /0% ABV / Castilla y Leon, Spain

Hope you enjoy these low-cost options for January. Some old favourites like mince and dumplings, yummy winter comfort food that doesn’t drain your budget; soups that are filling and healthy and for those of you who don’t pass out at the thought of offal, chicken livers cost next to nothing and are high in nutrients. Enjoy.

Low Fat Creamy Broccoli Soup with Welsh Rarebit

Cost 5 - 6 euros (including the Rarebit). Serves 4-5 people

Broccoli Soup Welsh Rarebit

Ingredients

300g fresh or frozen broccoli 1 pint veg stock 250g low fat cream cheese 1 grated garlic clove Salt & pepper

Method

1. In deep pan, cover broccoli & grated garlic with veg stock and bring to boil. 2. Reduce heat, add cream cheese and simmer until broccoli cooked. 3. Season with salt and pepper add more stock if required, although you don’t want your soup to be too thin. 4. Blend with stick blender.

Ingredients

Sliced rustic bread of choice 50g our 50g butter 250ml warm beer 250g strong cheddar cheese 2 tsp English mustard 2 tbsp Worcester sauce Salt & pepper

Method

1. Melt butter in small pan and add our to make a roux. Gently cook for a couple of minutes watching it doesn’t stick or burn. Slowly add the warmed beer until you have a thick smooth sauce. Add grated cheese, mustard, Worcester sauce and season to taste. 2. Lightly toast and butter bread, add the cheesy sauce on each slice and cook under a hot grill until bubbling and brown.

Ingredients

5 Tomatoes roughly cut 3 Red Peppers, cut and deseeded 1 onion cut into large chunks 1 tbsp Olive Oil 1 pint vegetable or chicken stock 1 clove grated garlic Salt & pepper Basil for garnish

Method

1. Heat oven to 190 degrees c. 2. Put peppers, tomatoes and onion on roasting tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, watching the edges of the veg don’t burn. 3. Put the roasted tomatoes, onions, peppers, and juices from the tray into a deep pan and add the vegetable stock, garlic, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes to bring the avours together. 4. Blend with a stick blender. 5. Serve with fresh basil.

Ingredients

100g self-raising our 50g suet Chopped herbs (e.g., parsley/coriander) 5 tbsp water 500g minced beef (or mix of beef & pork) 2 diced onions 1 carrot 1 pint of beef stock (oxo cube) Dash of Worcester sauce Pinch of paprika Gravy granules Salt & pepper

Method

1. Over a medium heat, add mince to large pan, making sure all the mince is broken down and browned. 2. Drain o any excess fat, add diced onion and sliced carrot to the meat mix and continue to brown. 3. Add beef stock and dash of Worcester Sauce to the mince and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add the gravy granules to thicken the mince and add in paprika. 4. Meanwhile make the dumplings by adding our, suet, salt, pepper and chopped herbs in a large bowl. Bring together with cold water until it forms a sti dough. 5. Divide the dough into small balls and place them into the mince so they are half covered. 6. Cook for 30 minutes, gently turning the dumplings halfway through. 7. When ready, garnish with chopped parsley and serve either on its own or with your favourite veg.

Hope you love this quick and easy dish. You can use whatever protein you like, chicken, beef, shrimp, left-over pork or turkey, tofu or miss out all together and make with vegetables. Drunken is the style of sauce – no alcohol involved. Whatever protein or veg options you choose, you will be hooked as it’s really quick and easy to make and prepare in advance and it’s cheaper than a takeaway.

Ingredients

Stir-Fry Sauce: 2 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 2 tbsp sh sauce 2 tbsp chilli sauce

Stir-Fry Ingredients: 225 g uncooked noodles 400 g chicken/beef 2 cups broccoli orets 2 spring onions 1 red pepper 4 cloves garlic, grated 1 tsp grated ginger 1 diced chilli (optional) 1 tbsp oil 1 bunch basil leaves Squeeze of lime juice Options for garnish: chopped peanuts,

Method

You can prep each of the stages in advance and bring it all together in minutes when you are ready to eat.

1. Make the sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside until ready to use. 2. Prepare noodles following instructions on the packet. Don’t overcook. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly in cold water and shake o excess water. Toss the noodles in a drizzle of oil to stop them sticking and leave aside until ready to use. 3. Cook the vegetables. Par boil the broccoli orets for 5 minutes until al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water and shake o excess water. Set aside. Cut peppers into strips and chop spring onions. Set aside with broccoli. 4. When ready to eat, heat a spoonful of oil in large pan or wok, add diced chicken, beef, or whatever protein you are using and season with salt and pepper, sauté the meat in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked through. 5. Add the peppers to chicken or beef and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add chopped chillies, grated ginger and garlic. 6. Combine rest of ingredients, i.e., noodles, sauce, broccoli, spring onions and basil leaves (leaving a few for garnish). Gently stir-fry until everything is hot. Squeeze lime juice over the top when you serve (optional). 7. Garnish with whatever you fancy e.g. chopped peanuts, chillies, basil.

Ingredients

You can make as many potatoes as you wish depending on how hungry you are or how many people you are feeding.

4/5 Potatoes 50g butter 2 cloves grated garlic (optional) 3-4 Cheese slices cut into 4 per slice Grilled pancetta to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees c. 2. If you are in a hurry, par boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes (depending on size of potatoes) the ones I used weren’t too big so 5 minutes was enough. Speeds up the cooking process. 3. Remove from water and make cuts in each potato making sure you don’t cut right through. Place on baking tray. 4. Melt butter in small pan and add grated garlic and spoon into the cuts of the potato. 5. Add the cheese slice pieces into the potato cuts and bake the potatoes in oven for 30/45 minutes until golden brown. (Cooking time will depend on size of potatoes) 6. Serve with pieces of grilled pancetta.

Herb Crusted Cauliflower Cheese

Cost – 4-5 euros. Serves 3-4 people Ingredients

1 Cauliflower 250 ml warm milk 50g butter 50g flour 2 tsp English mustard 250g grated cheddar 200g breadcrumbs Chopped mixed herbs 1 tsp Paprika Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees c. 2. Remove outer leaves from cauliflower and break florets into pan. Cover with water, add salt and boil for 10 minutes. 3. Drain cauliflower and put into baking dish. 4. Melt butter in small pan, add flour and combine. Gently cook for a couple of minutes watching it doesn’t stick or burn. Slowly add the warmed milk until you have a thick smooth sauce. Add grated cheese, keeping back a little for the topping, mustard, paprika and season to taste and cook for a couple of minutes until cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce. 5. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower. 8 | Moira’s Kitchen