Vin de Noix & Nocino - 2 Green Walnut Liqueurs

Provenance

A few years ago, I was reading a novel by Martin Walker about a french chief of police named Bruno.  Of course, the book was titled, "Bruno, Chief of Police", I am not sure what intrigued me to buy the book.  Oh, perhaps, that it was set in France and not only in France, but the south of France.  I love the south of France.  I have spent only a few days there, but my experience was one of pure delight.

Within the first five pages of the book the author describes Bruno's favorite drink:  Vin de Noix.  A fortified wine infused with green walnuts and spices.  The drink was prepared on St. Jean's Day, June 24, with an early harvest of walnut, before the nuts mature and shrivel up.

About 3 weeks later I was on a business trip and I had bought a copy of Food and Wine magazine to read on the plane.  Sure enough there was an article on Nocino, a liqueur based on eau de vie and, you guessed it, green walnuts.  Kismet had conspired.  Needless to say I was now intrigued to find out more.

It was early May. so I researched a little bit on the internet.  I was able to find 3 recipes for Vin de Noix and only 2 for Nocino.  But I down loaded them and poured over them for hours until I settled on my approach.  I even found a walnut farm that shipped their green walnuts anywhere in the US.  Haag Farms in California:  www.walnuts.us.  I order 10 pounds of walnuts. Purchased my wine, vodka, armagnac, brandy,  and I was determined to make 5 different flavors to determine which was the best combination.  I made 13 bottles of Vin de Noix and 2 of the Nocino.  I was set.  That was 2014.  When I told Francois what I had done, he told me that I had to cellar the Vin de Noix for 5-10 years.  Oh my god, 10 years.  When I first opened the bottled Vin de Noix in early 2015, I said to myself, he was right, its not ready.  When I tasted the Nocino, it was love at first drop.

It is now 2017, the Vin de Noix has aged a full three years and the flavors have become more mellow and certainly more appealing.  I especially liked the Vin de Noix made with Armagnac and the Nocino.  I have several drinks to mix with the Vin de Noix, even though it is good up or on the rocks.  I do have a recipe for a manhattan that calls for Nocino.  And I am speculating I can make a Negroni like drink from the Vin de Noix (watch for an up coming blog post on mixing with Vin de Noix).

Here are my recipes for Vin de Noix and Nocino:

Vin de Noix

Ingredients

1 L Red wine (preferably a Cotes du Rhone)

250 mL Armagnac

8 Green Walnuts, quartered

1 C Raw Sugar (Turbinado)

1/2 Vanilla Bean, split and seeds scraped

4 whole cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

Prep

You will need 1/2 Gallon mason jar and lid.   Remember to reserve the empty bottles of wine for bottling day.

Dissolve the sugar in the wine by mixing them and stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Cut up the walnuts and add to the jar.  Pour the wine, Armagnac over the walnuts.  With the tip of a knife cut a slit down the side of the vanilla bean.  Using the back of the knife, scrape the seeds out.  Add the bean and the seeds to the walnuts.  Add the four cloves.  Cover and store in a cool dark place for 49 days.

Bottling

It's 7 weeks later.  It's bottling day and time to strain, filter and pour the Vin de Noix into your wine bottles.  Line a sieve with two layers of cheese cloth and pour the Vin de Noix through into a large bowl.  Using a funnel fill each bottle to the throat of the bottle, leaving enough room to get the cork into the bottle.   I use a corker to insert the cork into the bottle.  You can buy them on amazon for about $30.  Or you can try to use a wooden mallet to pound the cork into the bottle.  I think anytime you are hitting a piece of glass with a mallet is a dangerous situation and much prefer the hand corker.  I use a double lever corker.  It holds the cork in place and without much effort inserts the cork into the bottle.

Finish

You are almost there, with the Vin de Noix safely bottled, it now needs to go into the cellar for at least 6 months and as many years as you can wait before you open it.

Nocino

Ingredients

1 L Vodka

12 Green Walnuts, quartered

1 C Raw Sugar (Turbinado)

1/2 Vanilla Bean, slit and seeds scraped

4 Whole cloves

Prep

You will need a 1/2 gallon mason jar and lid.  Follow the same basic recipe as above.  This will yield approximately 3 splits.  

Mix the sugar and the Vodka and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.  Quarter 12 green walnuts and add to the mason jar.  Pour the vodka mixture into the jar.  Add the vanilla bean and its seeds and the cloves.  Seal the jar with the lid and store the jar in a nice sunny spot in your kitchen for 40 days.

Bottling 

It's been 40 days since you placed your Nocino on the window sill.  It's ready to be bottled.  Unlike the Vin de Noix, you are not going to store this for a long time.  Any used bottle with a cork will suffice in storing the Nocino, but you can cork it in a wine bottle and later decant it when you want to serve it.  

You want to strain the Nocino thru a double layer of cheese cloth lining a sieve in to a large bowl or pitcher with a pouring spout.  Then using a funnel pour the Nocino into the bottles you have reserved.

Finish

You will hold the Nocino for at least 6 months before serving it.  Enjoy and remember to drink responsibly, someone has to watch over me.

Merguez Lamburger

Provenance

Merguez traditionally is a sausage from north Africa made with either lamb or beef and this really delicious seasoning consisting of red pepper and chili with some additional seasonings such as sumac, cumin, coriander, fennel, or caraway.  Tonight we are going to tweak that a bit and make a merguez lamburger.

I buy my merguez seasoning from the spice house in Evanston.  You can buy it on line at thespicehouse.com.  If you cannot find Merguez Seasoning, you can make your own,  see the note below.

Ingredients

Lamburger

1 lb ground lamb
3 Tbsp Merguez Seasoning
1/2 cup crumble goat cheese
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Tzatziki

1 10 oz container Greek Yogurt
1 small cucumber, seeded and diced, about 1/4 cup
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 Lemon, juice

Fried Shallots

1 Medium shallot sliced thin
1/4 C olive oil


4 Brioche or Pretzel buns
Broad leaf lettuce

To Prep

Start by making the lamburgers, break the ground lamb into large chunks into a large mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 the Merguez seasoning, all of the goat cheese, diced onion and cilantro.  Gently turn the mixture, without over working the lamb.  You do not want the fat to melt by touching the lamb too much.  After the seasoning is well mixed, add the remaining merguez and continue to turn the meat.

Make 4 patties out of the mixture.  Store them in the fridge before cooking on the grill.  This can be made ahead in the morning and held until the guests arrive.

For the tzatziki sauce, empty your yogurt container into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the lemon juice, the diced cucumber and chopped dill.  Stir until well mixed.  This too can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to plate.

For the fried shallots, preheat an 8" skillet and add the oil.  Prepare a plate with a couple of paper towels to recieve the fried shallots.  Once the oil is hot, add 1/2 of the sliced shallots.  They will cook fast and you have to watch the entire time (you do not want to burn the shallots.)  As they start to turn dark, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or a skimmer.  After the first batch is complete, add the second batch.  These will cook a little faster. so again you must watch them like a hawk.

To Cook

When the guests arrive, start the grill, serve them La Palomas and get ready to make your lamburgers.  Pull the lamb out of the fridge and let them rest for about 15 minutes.  Grill the lamburgers until medium rare about 5 minutes per side.  After turning the lamb, add the buns cut side down to the grill.  Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

To Plate

Set up the plates with your favorite sides or try the roasted Parmesan fingerling potatoes.  Assemble the burger by placing a lettuce leaf on the bottom bun, a dollop of the tzatziki sauce, add the burger, top with tzatziki and the fried shallots.  Serve the burger open faced with the top of the bun cut side down.

You can watch my video on YouTube:

Note:

You can make your own merguez seasoning:  1 1/2 Tbsp Harissa, 1 tsp corriander seed, 1 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp cumin seed.  Toast the seeds until aromatic.  Grind the seeds in a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle.  If you cannot do that, you can substitute the seeds with ground seasonings.  Cooking is an art.  You make the best of the situation you are in.  Add the ground seeds to the harissa and mix until fully combined.  Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Makes enough for this recipe. 

Pan Seared Shrimp, Creme Armagnac, Warmed Tomatoes

Provenance

Pan Seared Shrimp, was a cuisine du moment opportunity.  When you need to make some food and haven't planned it yet, is when you MUST use cuisine du moment.  You have 30 minutes to get something out.  Well this plate can be served as an appetizer or an entree (with the right sides) and can feed 4-8 people.  I have written the recipe for 8 as an app.   This recipe is really a combination of the food I had on had one night.  I had some raw shrimp left over from the previous night and it needed to get cooked.  I had some really fresh vine ripe tomatoes.  And some creme fraiche (I bought mine at whole foods).  You can make it yourself, but you need 48 hours notice.  I had 48 minutes.

The recipe just came together.  Pan sear the shrimp.  Saute shallots, add armagnac, creme fraiche and reduce.  Warm the tomatoes in the sauce.  Return the shrimp to the pan.  Coat everything with the sauce and plate.

Ingredients

24 Medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined, rinsed and patted dry
2 vine ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 16 wedges
1 medium shallot, finely diced
2 Tbs Armagnac (or Courvoisier)
1 Tbs Butter
1 tsp olive oil
3 Tbs Creme Fraiche

To Prep

If you didn't buy the shrimp peeled and deveined, do so now.  Finely dice the shallots; core and cut the tomatoes into wedges.

To Cook

Heat a medium skillet (large enough to hold all 24 shrimp in a single layer) over medium high heat. Melt the butter.  Once the butter has started to bubble add the olive oil.  Drop the shrimp in to the pan and a single layer.  The shrimp cook fast so pay attention to them.  If they are over cooked, there is really nothing you can do to make it better.  Once they start to turn orange and the flesh is starting to turn opaque, about 1-2 minutes, then turn the shrimp.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for another minute until the shrimp have golden brown edges.  Reserve the shrimp.

Saute the shallots for about 2 minutes until they start to turn translucent.

Turn down the heat before adding the armagnac.  wait about 60 seconds before attempting this next step.  If you are comfortable doing it, you can light the armagnac, by tipping the pan into the fire.  If not, then let the alcohol evaporate as you reduce the liquid.  After about 1 minute, add the creme fraiche.  Reduce for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and let them warm up, about 1 minute per side.

To Plate

Place 3 shrimp on the plate add two wedges of tomatoes, and one spoonful of the sauce to 8 small plates.  Serve immediately.

You can watch my video on YouTube:

Pan Seared Shrimp, Creme Armagnac, Warmed Tomatoes

La Paloma

The cocktail of the week:  La Paloma

For spring break we traveled to Puerto Vallarta.   Enjoying the Mexican Pacific coast, we really just hung out at the beach.  In my never ending search for cocktails that I have not tried before, I engaged my bartender asking him to make me the traditional drink.  He asked if I wanted a margarita.  I said I wanted something that was traditional and perhaps not that popular.  I suggested that maybe something the local people here would drink. He offered La Paloma. I hadn't hear of La Paloma and it was the perfect refreshing drink for the 80 degree weather and the brisk breezes from the coast.  

I loved the La Paloma - I ordered it everywhere we went.  It's a simple drink and different enough from the margarita, that I think you may like it as well.

Recipe:

Highball Glass

Salt and Lime Juice for the rim

1/2 oz Lime Juice 

2 oz Reposado Tequila

4 oz Grapefruit soda (Fresca or Jarritos)

set up two plates - squeeze the juice of one lime on one plate, place enough margarita salt on the second.  Moisten the rim of the glass in the lime and then salt the rim.

Add ice to fill the glass, pour in lime juice, Tequila, and Fresca to fill the glass. Serve with a straw (optional).

Watch the sunset as you sip this quencher.  #CotW . #LaPaloma . 

Click here for the YouTube Video on the ChezMacBistro Channel 

La Paloma 

Papi's Margarita

Cocktail of the Week: Papi's Margarita

In the early 80's, before it was legal for me to drink, my father would whip up a batch of margaritas for the family to enjoy.  He used a glass pitcher and these really cool coupe glasses, that we only used for Margarita's.  They were tasty drinks that went down smooth and OMG they were wicked.  

I asked him for the recipe and he told me 3 parts to 1 to 1.  I said that sounds pretty easy and the next time I made my dad's margarita I followed his recipe to the tee:  3 to 1 to 1.  Unfortunately, it did not look right and it certainly did not taste right.  I had assumed that 3 was for the roses.  Back then, the only "mixed" drinks I had ever made were Bloody Mary's or Screw drivers which were 1 shot of vodka and fill the glass with the juice.  The 3 parts was for the tequila.  Needless to say I was able to save the drink by adding two shots of triple sec and 5 shots of tequila - enough for each of us to have two drinks.

Recipe for My Dad's Margarita:

3 oz Blanco Tequila

1 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Roses Lime Juice

Mix all three ingredients in a pitcher with ice and stir.  Pour margaritas into salt rimmed coupe glasses.

Enjoy my father's margarita.  And remember to drive responsibly, someone has to look after me!

#CotW