Malbec, have you ever tasted this type of wine? This is a Bordeaux wine made in France and Argentina. In France, however, these are made less and less. The grape is doing very well in Argentina, which is where at least 75% of the Malbec wines sold worldwide come from. I wanted to try cooking with Malbec. This seems to be the neglected child of the wines.
Cooking with Malbec
Have you never come across this wine? You don’t see it that much when you just walk into the supermarket, because it is rarely sold there. However, every reasonable liquor store has at least a few types on offer. Malbec is a firm, fruity wine full of tannins. However, different types can fit better with a certain dish. So choose your Malbec on that basis. I chose a Temporada Malbec from Argentina. I wanted to ensure that the wine is readily available for this blog. And of course that it tastes good with my dish. That, of course, is Argentinian and tasty with a touch of luxury, but also remains general enough here. Hopefully you can also cook with Malbec at home. I did some research on meat and vegetable types that go well with this wine. In the end I opted for steak with red wine sauce, seasoned potato pieces in their skins and stuffed mushrooms.
Steak with red wine sauce
I will also share the other recipes below. However, for cooking with Malbec, this is the most important, the red wine sauce. A classic for meat. By using Malbec, the taste of this sauce is not lost against the pronounced taste of steak. We ourselves love this and were therefore excited to try this out.
Ingredients steak with red wine sauce
- 4 pieces of steak
- 200ml Malbec
- 2 jars of beef stock (400ml)
- 1 shallot
- 3 teaspoons of thyme
- salt and pepper for the steak
I used round steak. Other types of steak work, of course. You can also replace it with entrecote, for example. The ingredient list also includes 200ml of Malbec, which I recommend to make sure you have another glass for dinner. This tastes really good with your meat and vegetables and adds to the experience of this meal.
Preparation steak with red wine sauce – Delicious Cooking with Malbec
Remove the steak from the refrigerator half an hour in advance. This way it can come to room temperature. Cut the shallot into pieces. Bring the wine and stock to the boil. Add the shallot and 2 teaspoons of thyme. Let this boil down until a third remains. It may take a while for this to cook down properly, but your patience will be rewarded. If it takes too long, add some starch (cornstarch for example) or some butter.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper and fry in butter for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Then let it rest in aluminum foil. In the meantime, we’re making this one pan the wine sauce.
Strain the reduced sauce and put the remaining liquid in the pan with the shortening of the meat. Stir the brownings and heat up together. Season with salt, pepper, and possibly a pinch of cinnamon. Add thyme to taste if necessary. You can use the rest as a garnish.
Place the steak on the plates. Spoon some sauce over this.
Serve with the potatoes and mushrooms.
Do you also want to cook with Malbec but prefer more luxurious meat? Or, just want more red wine recipes? Then also check out these blogs:
These blogs are aimed at the holidays, but also very suitable for a luxurious meal or a session of cooking with Malbec. You don’t necessarily have to wait until the holidays to unpack for dinner.
The first wine is for the cook, right?
Stuffed mushrooms
Have you ever eaten stuffed mushrooms? This is an easy side dish that lends itself to both a luxurious meal and a tapas evening. I chose mushrooms because we love them very much, but especially because they go very well with the taste of the Malbec. I wanted to taste that combination.
Ingredients stuffed mushrooms
Variation tip: Portobello mushrooms lend themselves very well to cooking with Malbec.
Prepare stuffed mushrooms
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Finely chop the red onion, bacon and garlic. Chop the sage into pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and carefully hollow out a little more if necessary. You can finely chop the stems and set them aside for your mixture. I add half myself, because otherwise I have way too much filling. Mix all ingredients except the mushrooms. Stir until these are well mixed.
Spoon the filling into the mushrooms with a spoon. They should be quite full.
Place the stuffed mushrooms in a baking dish and place in the oven.
Bake them for about 20 minutes. Serve alongside the steak and potatoes.
Potatoes as a side dish with Cooking with Malbec
You can vary endlessly for the potatoes with this dish. I chose baby potatoes with skin because they have their own taste and character. Of course you can adjust this to your taste if you are going to cook with Malbec. That’s how I made them;
Cut the potatoes into slices. Heat a frying pan with butter. Fry the potatoes until golden brown. Add rosemary and fry briefly. Season with salt and pepper.
Patience is a virtue, these baby potatoes are best when baked a little longer. So that they are really golden brown.
Variation tip: Do you have mushrooms or shallots left over from the previous recipes? You can bake this through the potatoes for some extra vegetables and flavor.
April 17 Malbec day
Malbec Day, also known as “World Malbec Day”, is an annual holiday celebrated on April 17. This day is dedicated to the Malbec grape, a well-known grape variety mainly grown in the French region of Cahors and in the Argentinian region of Mendoza. Malbec Day is a global event that gives wine lovers the opportunity to enjoy this popular wine and learn more about Malbec’s history, production and flavor profiles. Malbec Day is a great opportunity to honor this special grape and to toast the winemakers who produce this quality wine.
Are you also going to cook with Malbec wine? Have fun and enjoy your meal and drink!
