Cava, Spain; Trebbiano, Italy; Macon-Villages, White Burgundy, France; Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese blend, Italy; Chianti Classico Riserva, Italy; Chianti Colli Fiorentini Riserva, Italy
I’ve been hosting several parties that I call a “Wine and Food Pairing Experience.” Each person brings a food item and a bottle of wine to pair that fits in with the theme. After I order the bottles in a logical tasting order, we try each wine and food pairing and the person who brought the item explains the food and wine pairing.
For my recent Old World themed “Wine and Food Pairing Experience,” I made a bison bolognese sauce served over whole grain pasta topped with Parmigiano Reggiano and paired it with a Chianti Colli Fiorentini Riserva 2007. Typically for an Italian meat sauce, I’d choose Chianti Classico Riserva, California Old Vine Zinfandel, or Italian Primitivo. In this case, I needed to stay Old World and I wanted something traditional like Chianti, but a friend was already bringing the Classico so I opted for another one of the seven Chianti DOCGs. Delicious! Several people asked me to post the recipe for the bison bolognese sauce.
So here’s the background on the sauce. I’ve made a few recipes in my Cuisinart electric pressure cooker and have started to get the idea of how to modify the techniques to make the food taste as delicious as if I had slow-cooked it on the stovetop. First, instead of using the low heat of the pressure cooker to saute or brown ingredients, splurge on getting an extra pot dirty and start the recipe on the stovetop. Second, for recipes like stews or meaty sauces that might take several hours on the stovetop to cook, use the “natural steam release” of the pressure cooker instead of the “quick steam release.” This technique seems to integrate the flavors much more thoroughly. My pressure cooker reverts to a “keep warm” setting after the steam is released. Since we’re talking stews or meaty sauces, keeping the pressure cooker on warm is like simmering the sauce longer on the stovetop, which is great for continuing to integrate flavors. Third, make the sauce the night before you plan to serve it and refrigerate it to allow flavors to further integrate. Reheat the sauce the next day in the pressure cooker on the “keep warm” or “low” setting. Finally, taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings (e.g., salt, pepper) as needed. Serve!
I served a Chianti Colli Fiorentini Riserva 2007 with a Bison Bolognese served over whole wheat pasta and topped with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
For this particular recipe, I started with the “Quick Bolognese Sauce” in The Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Tori Ritchie. I’ve made this recipe per the directions before and I wanted to update it to be healthier and reflect my personal tastes (more onion and garlic, please!). First, I replaced the 1 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. ground pork or veal with 2 lb. ground bison. Bison is a leaner meat than the beef, pork, or veal and, I suspected, a more gamey or earthy flavor, which would be perfect for pairing with the more earthy Old World wines. Next, I cut down the olive oil by 2/3, increased the pancetta by 1/3 for flavor, and increased the quantities of onion and garlic. Instead of using crushed tomatoes, which have a reputation for being the leftover and less desirable parts, I used whole plum tomatoes and crushed them in the food processor. I eliminated the optional heavy cream.
Bison Bolognese Sauce
Special Equipment: Pressure cooker, saute pan; Active Time: 30-45 min stovetop. Passive time: 45 min pressure cooker to cook including steam release, overnight melding of flavors in fridge, 1 hour reheat in pressure cooker
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 lb. ground bison
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. pancetta
1 jumbo yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk (or 2 if using celery hearts), diced
1/4 cup parsley, flat or curly, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes, crushed in food processor
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1. On the stovetop, heat a large (3-4 qt) saute pan over medium heat. When you can feel a good heat rising, add 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil and distribute evenly. Then saute the bison until brown, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Drain off any remaining fat.
2. Add 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil to the hot pan and distribute. Add the pancetta and allow some fat to release from it. Then add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, onion is translucent, and pancetta is lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes depending on your cookware and stovetop.
3. Stir in the parsley, garlic, a pinch of salt, and black pepper to taste. Cook for about 30 second to 1 minute until the garlic starts to release its aromatics but without it burning. Add the wine and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2-5 minutes.
4. Return the bison and any accumulated juices to the pan, and stir to combine. Then stir in the tomatoes and 1/2 cup water.
5. Transfer to the pressure cooker pot. Following the manufacturer’s directions, lock the lid in place. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Use the natural steam release and allow the sauce to sit on the “keep warm” setting for up to an hour before refrigerating. You can transfer to the refrigerator sooner depending on your schedule. Refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
6. Reheat the sauce in the pressure cooker over the “low” or “keep warm” setting. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as desired. Serve over whole wheat penne. Pass the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Enjoy!
© Elizabeth Taylor – 2011
The Zin Diva, LLC 