Apricot lamb, orange chops … the secret is fruit wine - recipes

Sunset, March, 1991

Apricot lamb, orange chops... the secret is fruit wine The intense essence of fruit in some dessert wines marries surpriseingly well with ceratin main dishes. In these entrees, the wines' fruit character complements hot, spicy, sweet, and tart notes. Use a little of the wine in cooking the dish, then sip small glasses of the same wine--ice cold--with the entree.

Spoon a little orange muscat wine over chevere-topped oven-glazed pork chops. A black muscat or berry wing glazes and flavors fresh fennel, onions, and spicy Italian sausages as they bake. Apricot wine eschoes the same fruit found in a warmly spiced couscous with braised lamp shanks. Golden orange muscat wine mellows a chili- and cocoa-thickened chicken stew.

Pork and Chevre with Orange Wine

1/2 cup orange muscat dessert wine 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey 6 loin pork chops, each 1 inch thick (about 3 lb. total) 5 ounces unripened chevre cheese, thinly sliced or crumbled 1/3 cup finely shredded or chopped fresh mint leaves or fresh cilantro (coriander) Fresh mint or cilantro sprigs (optional) Salt and pepper

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons wine, mustard, and honey. Brush mixture all over chops and set on a greased rack in a foil-lined 12- by 15-inch broiler pan.

Bake in a 500 [degrees] oven until lightly browned, 15 to 18 minutes. Distribute cheese equally over chops. Return chops to over and continue cooking until meat is no longer pink at bone (cut to test) and cheese is hot, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer chops to 6 warm dinner plates. Drizzle remaining wine equally over chops and sprinkle with chopped mint. Garnish with fresh mint springs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 525 cal.> 40 protein> 36 g fat> 4.4 g carbo.> 276 mg sodium> 148 mg chol.

Muscat-glazed Sausages, Fennel, Onion

1/3 cup black muscat or berry dessert wine 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 2 medium-size (about 1 1/2 lb. total) heads partially trimmed fennel 2 small (about 3/4 lb. total) unpeeled onions, cut in half lengthwise 4 mild or hot Italian sausages (about 1 lb. total)

In a 9- by 13-inch baking dish, mix wine and vinegar. Trim tough stems, any bruises, and root ends from fennel> reserve feathery green leaves. Cut each fennel head in half lengthwise through core. Set fennel, cut side down, in pan. Cover and bake in a 400 [degrees] oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and set onion halves, cut side down, in pan. Turn sausages in the wine mixture to coat and lay in pan in a single layer.

Bake, uncovered, in a 400 [degrees] oven, turning sausages once, until vegetables are soft when pressed, sausages are browned, and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour. Transfer to serving dish. Garnish with green fennel leaves. Serves 4.

Per serving: 457 cal.> 19 g protein> 36 g fat> 14 g carbo.> 970 mg sodium> 86 mg chol.

Lamb Shanks with Apricot Couscous

2 tablespoon salad oil 4 lamb shanks (3/4 to 1 lb. each), bones cracked if desired 1 large (1/2 lb.) onion, chopped 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 cinnamon stick (about 3 in.) 2 cups regular-strength chicken broth 1/4 cup apricot or orange muscat dessert wine 1 cup (about 6 oz.) dried apricot 1 3/4 cups couscous Fresh mint springs (optional

Poul oil into a deep 12-inch frying pan or a 5- to 6-quart pan over midium-high heat. Add as many lamb shanks as will fit without crowding, and brown well, turning often, 8 to 10 minutes total. Remove from pan and repeat with any remaining lamb. Set aside lamb.

Add onion to pan and stir often until limp, about 5 minutes. Add coriander, ginger, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, broth, and lamb. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn over lamb in juices. Cover and continue simmering until lamb is tender when pierced, about 1 hour longer. (If made ahead, cool, cover, and chill up until the next day> reheat to continue.) Lift out lamb and place on a serving dish> keep warm.

Skim off and discard all fat from pan juices. Measure juices> you need 2 1/3 cups. If not enough, add water> otherwise boil, uncovered, until reduced to 2 1/3 cups. Ad wine and apricots> bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand until liquid is absorbed, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir with a fork to fluff, and mound coucous alongside lamb. Garnish with mint springs. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 809 cal.> 59 g protain> 18 g fat> 96 g carbo.> 180 mg sodium> 142 mg chol.

Braised Chicken in Chili-Orange Souce

About 2 tablespoons salad oil 3 pounds boned and skinned chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks 1 large (1/2 lb.) onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced 2 tablespoons ground dry New Mexico or California chilies 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup regular-strength chicken broth 2 large (about 1 1/2 lb. total) oranges 1/4 cup orange muscat dessert wine Salt