Unfortunately, food is something too many people go without. For this reason, Clos Du Val supports Project Open Hand, a San Francisco-based organization that provides meals and nutritional counseling to those who are homebound or critically ill. Clos Du Val regularly donates wine for Project Open Hand’s annual Hand to Hand luncheon. The luncheon features dishes by Bay Area chefs served with Clos Du Val wines. It is Project Open Hand’s largest fundraiser.

“Roasted Winter Vegetable Ratatouille over Baked Polenta Rounds with Fire Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Coulis” is a recipe created by Project Open Hand Chef Mike Baroman-Coggins for the most recent Hand to Hand luncheon, which was held in December 2006. The dish is a delicious Vegetable Ratatouille and the perfect companion to the Clos Du Val 2004 Carneros Chardonnay.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Ratatouille over Baked Polenta Rounds with Fire Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Coulis

By Chef Mike Baroman-Coggins, Project Open Hand. 

Yield Six Servings

• 1 Tbsp garlic, peeled and minced                             
• 4 ½ fl oz. olive oil                                                   
• 1 quart vegetable stock                                             
• 5 ½ cups milk                                                            
• 6 oz. butter
• 1/2  lb. polenta   
• 3 Tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (thyme, rosemary)
• 10 oz. parmesan cheese, shredded
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 red beets, peeled and diced ½”
• 2 gold beets, peeled and diced ½”
• 8 carrots, peeled
• 5 baby zucchini
• 3 red onions, marinated in olive oil, red wine, salt and pepper. Cut into wedges with the stem side attached to hold the onion together
• 8 fl oz. balsamic vinegar
• 6 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced into ½” dice
• 18 asparagus tips, roasted

Sauté the garlic in 3 tbsp of olive oil for 1 minute. Add the stock, milk and butter. Bring to a rolling simmer. Slowly add the polenta to avoid lumping. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the herbs and the parmesan, season with salt and pepper. Cook the polenta, stirring often until done. Oil a sheet pan and pour out the polenta. Refrigerate until later use.

Keeping the red beets separate, prep all vegetables, toss in a small amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast each type of vegetable in a high heat over at 425F until lightly browned. Keep each vegetable separated during roasting. After roasting, the carrots, gold beets, baby zucchini and red bell peppers can be mixed. Hold back the onions and the red beets until plating. Hold the asparagus for plating.

In a small pan, reduce the balsamic vinegar to a syrup.  Hold on the side at room temp.

Plating: Punch out the polenta disks (3 per plate) and place on a well oiled sheet pan. Brush the tops with oil as well. Roast at high heat until crispy and slightly browned. Sauce the plate with Fire Roasted Tomato & Roasted Red Bell Pepper Coulis (recipe below). Top sauce with three polenta rounds. Warm the roasted vegetable mixture, toss with fresh thyme, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with a small amount of the balsamic syrup. Plate the vegetables over the polenta. Dot each plate with a few red beets and roasted onions. Serve with a sprig of fresh rosemary and some dots of Basil Oil (recipe below). Arrange asparagus tips in the dish for color. Serve with Clos Du Val 2004 Carneros Chardonnay.

Fire Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Coulis

• 3 Roma tomatoes, oiled, grilled, peeled and seeded
• 2 red bell pepper, oiled, grilled, peeled, and seeded
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp shallots, minced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 fl. oz. white wine
• 12 fl. Oz. vegetable stock
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Grill the tomatoes and red peppers over a char broiler or stove flame. Put the tomatoes and the peppers in plastic bags for 15 minutes to sweat. Peel and seed the vegetables.

In a medium sauce pot, sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze with the wine and reduce by half. Rough chop the tomatoes and bell peppers. Add to the pot. Add the stock. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Puree the sauce and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Basil Oil

Put basil in a blender or food processor. Turn on and slowly add the oil until you achieve the color and consistency desired. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
 

About Clos Du Val 2004 Carneros Chardonnay

Light gold in color with a green tinge, the Clos Du Val 2004 Carneros Chardonnay exhibits aromas of pear and pineapple balanced with notes of bread crust and some smoke.  Its clean tropical fruit, citrus and green apple flavors are prominent on the palate, yet integrated with small amounts of toast.  A medium-full bodied wine, this Chardonnay show excellent balance, fresh acid and a clean, crisp finish.

About Clos Du Val

French born winemaker Bernard Portet and American businessman John Goelet founded Clos Du Val in 1972. After traveling the world for two years in search of winegrowing regions of great potential, Portet selected two sites in the Napa Valley—150 acres in the Stags Leap District for growing Bordeaux varieties and 180 acres in the cooler Carneros region to launch Clos Du Val’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay program. Today, Portet and winemaker John Clews continue to deliver our trademark style of balance, complexity and elegance, as Clos Du Val has consistently expressed for more than thirty years. For more information about Clos Du Val, please visit www.closduval.com.

About Project Open Hand 

Project Open Hand provides food and compassion to improve the quality of life for the men, women and children it serves. Project Open Hand programs include: meal, grocery and nutrition counseling for people with symptomatic HIV and AIDS; congregate lunch and nutrition education for people over 60 years of age; meal service for homebound and critically ill people under the age of 60. Services are available to eligible clients living in San Francisco and Alameda counties, regardless of their race, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability or ability to pay.

Project Open Hand was founded in San Francisco in 1985 by Ruth Brinker, a retired meal service manager, who began preparing meals in a church basement for seven people living with AIDS. The first grassroots response to the nutritional needs of people with AIDS in the nation, Project Open Hand continues to be a model for similar organizations around the world. In 1989, Project Open Hand started serving people with AIDS in Alameda County. In 1998, Project Open Hand furthered its reach and began serving congregate lunches to seniors at various sites throughout San Francisco and Alameda County. At the beginning of 2000, Project Open Hand expanded its services to provide 'meals with love' to people who are homebound with any illness. For more information please visit http://www.openhand.org/.