Stuffed mussels, wine make delightful pair
BY DAVID CAMPICHE
Wine is not the ultimate beverage but one
of the finer choices.
Wine is the social drink. Wine couples
with food — and food with wine. Wine can be
mystifying.
Often, one walks down long grocery store
aisles or in a wine cellar and contemplates
which bottle and varietal should be picked
for pairing with meals like fresh halibut fillet.
There are many questions and fewer answers.
But the first answer is simple: Drink what
you like, what brings you pleasure. And most
important of all — in my humble opinion — is
to drink in celebration; to imbibe while eating
carefully or lovingly prepared food. Drink with
friends, family or best yet, with your partner.
But which wine with which food: That
answer is an open book.
The predictables are easy enough. With
seafood, choose a white wine. With red meats,
a red. Poultry is a bit more complex. A char-
donnay is a reasonable guess but so is pinot
noir, a lighter red wine full of complexities.
And then there is salmon. A few critics
proclaim that a pinot noir is a fine match. I
agree, but, as David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards
(the first commercial wine in Oregon) once
proclaimed, “Pinot gris (a viscous dry white)
is the perfect match for salmon.” Indeed, it is
Photos by David Campiche
a match made in heaven. The viscous silky
feeling of the wine tends to match the texture ABOVE: Stuffed mussels, after being steamed and cooked in the oven. RIGHT: The ingredients
used for creating stuffed mussels.
and oiliness of the salmon.
Curry loves a sweet riesling or a gewurz-
traminer. That holds true of most spicy food. agree. I believe there are few foods that
seems to make all food happy. Great with
Many people don’t believe that wine is a
don’t partner well with wine.
appetizers, its limitations are few. Seafood
particularly good match with spice. I dis-
And there is champagne, the beverage that
loves the bubbly companion. So does Sun-
day brunch: a seafood omelet or a soft scram-
ble with porcini mushrooms and gruyere. Even
fresh croissants and jam pair with the bub-
bly. Or maybe, just sipping on a warm spring
afternoon when friends just happen by, unan-
nounced at dinnertime.
One of my sons dropped by a bucket of
ocean mussels. They were welcomed and the
biggest I ever saw. I steamed them open with
1 cup of white wine, a half-stick of butter and
fresh herbs from the garden: fennel, rosemary
Sheryl Teuscher, LACP, LUTCF, CPIW
and oregano. The resulting broth happens to be
Representative
112 West B Street
a sublime base for chowders or a sauce reduc-
Rainier, OR 97048-0310
tion for a fish fillet.
countryfinancial.com/sheryl.teuscher
For pairing wine with mussels or clams,
sheryl.teuscher@countryfinancial.com
how about champagne or a cold pinot gris. If
503-556-0186
you find one, a chenin blanc is pleasant. And
I already mentioned gewurztraminer. So you
see, the wine world roils with choices.
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I don’t believe that cabernet sauvignon is
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a
good
match for seafood. Nor is a merlot or
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most reds. But pinot noir is.
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10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
And as to those huge orange mussels, here
is a recipe for a seafood stuffing, a sublime
mixture of pleasure to be stuffed back into
those cleaned recycled shells — a handsome
presentation — and baked at 350 degrees
Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
Stuffed mussels
Ingredients
• 4 pounds of steamed mussels, shelled and
chopped
• Half of a small onion, diced finely
• ¼ of a fennel root, fine diced
• 1 brimming teaspoon of finely diced ginger
• 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic, finely diced
• 2 stalks of finely diced celery
• ½ cup of Panko breadcrumbs
• ½ yellow sweet pepper, diced
• ¼ cup of diced water chestnuts
• ½ cup of Gruyere cheese, grated
• ¼ cup of grated Parmesan for the topping
• Salt to your taste
• A pinch of curry
• A pinch of cayenne
• 1 tablespoon of fresh fennel
• ¼ cup of mayonnaise
• Butter and/or olive oil for sautéing
Preparation
This is easy. Chop and dice finely the desig-
nated ingredients, excluding the breadcrumbs
and cheese. Sauté lightly in virgin olive oil or
butter. Transfer to a work bowl. Salt. Add the
mayonnaise, breadcrumbs and some grated
gruyere cheese to bind. Spoon into the shells.
Grate a bit of parmesan on top and stick into a
hot oven for 10 minutes.
Serve immediately with the champagne or
pinot gris. Hopefully, you can enjoy your meal
and drink outdoors. Santé.