Haricots Verts Amandine (French-Style Green Beans with Almonds) Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound (450g) green beans, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons (about 35g) unsalted butter
- 3 ounces (85g) slivered almonds
- 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons (25ml) juice from 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
-
Blanch the beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Add green beans to boiling water and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to ice bath using a wire mesh spider or tongs. Allow to chill completely, then drain and dry thoroughly with kitchen towels or paper towels.
-
In a medium skillet, heat butter and almonds over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until almonds are deeply browned and nutty, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes longer. Add lemon juice, along with a tablespoon or two of water. Increase heat to high and stir and shake pan rapidly to emulsify, about 30 seconds. The sauce should have a glossy sheen and not appear watery or greasy. If it’s still watery, continue to simmer and shake. If it looks greasy, add another tablespoon of water to re-emulsify. When sauce is ready, remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add beans to pan with sauce and toss to coat and combine. Return to medium heat and cook, tossing, until heated through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.
© Recipe courtesy of J. Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats.
NOVEMBER WINE CLUB:
Estate Cellars
2019 Chardonnay
Central Coast, California
RICH WINE STYLE
The Estate Cellars Chardonnay is sourced from premium vineyards spread throughout the iconic growing region. Known primarily for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir production, Monterey County is the ideal growing region for ultra-premium wine grapes. The appellation is vast and spreads from the edges of the Pacific Ocean to the warmth of the Salinas and Santa Clara Valleys. The grapes sourced for this wine come from a mix of coastal climates to warm valley floors, giving it the complexity that shows through in the final product. Cool coastal grapes provide bright acidity and mineral notes, coupled with the extravagant citrus and melon notes from the warm valley fruit. The Clos LaChance Chardonnay is a true representation of one of the premier Chardonnay growing regions in the world.
TASTING NOTES:
The Estate Cellars Chardonnay is medium straw/golden in color. It has soft tannins with moderate acidity and a long finish. On the nose, there are notes of lemon merengue, green apple, and melon; while the palate highlights flavors of guava, vanilla bean, caramel, and light oak.
Appellation: Central Coast, California
Analysis: 13.5% alcohol / volume
Aged: 14 Months on 20% new French oak, 80% neutral French oak
Harvest Date: Sept. 29 – Oct. 3
Average Brix at Harvest: 23.5
pH: 3.61
TA: 0.65
Sugar: 0.06 g/L
Food Pairings: Lobster, Pork Chops, Salad with Sliced Almonds
Cheese Pairings: The November Cheese Club selections.
Critical Acclaim: 91 pts. from justwinepoints.com
The Estate Cellars Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed to tank where it undergoes a 48-hour cold settle at 45°F. Post settling it is racked to stainless steel tank where it is inoculated, and fermentation begins. 20% of the wine is then transferred to new French oak and the remainder is fermented in neutral French oak. Post aging the wine is blended together where the bright fruit and citrus aromas come together with subtle hints of vanilla and sweet oak to give balance and life to this elegant Chardonnay.
The 2019 Estate Cellars’ Red Blend, similar to the previous two years, was notated as one of the latest starts to their season’s harvest. The winters have prolonged their growing seasons as the increasingly wet soils allow the vines time to mature at a healthy rate. The above average rainfall in the spring gave rise to a later than average bud break and bloom, which allowed the weather time to warm up and decrease any concerns of destructive frost. The summer temperatures were well below the seasonal average with only four days of 100+ degree temperatures (in previous years, they saw 11-16 days over 100 degrees). These even and mild temperature changes gave the winery an ideal growing season that pushed them well into November. They believe this hang time has shaped up to provide high quality wine and one of their best vintages to date.
Estate Cellars is a secondary brand to Clos LaChance, a family owned and operated winery in the Northern Central Coast region of California. After perfecting their portfolio, they wanted to reach additional markets by creating unique labels while still maintaining their same attention to high quality wine. Clos LaChance Winery started in 1987 when co-owners, Bill and Brenda Murphy, decided to plant a few rows of Chardonnay in their Saratoga backyard. By 1992, they grew into a commercial winery releasing their very first vintage. Today, Clos LaChance Winery and Estate Vineyard is proud to be Certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Learn more here.
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