Provencal Eggplant Stew + Decoy Merlot for #MerlotMe

 #WinePairingWeekend writers have celebrated #MerlotMe every October for the last seven years, reports Jeff Burrows of Food Wine Click.  Here are my past posts:

2021  Boterra and Creamy Lasagne Soup

2020  MerlotMe and No Noodle Lasagne

This year I received a delicious bottle of Decoy Merlot to taste. It is a fantastic Merlot.  I went to wine.com to look up their tasting notes and this is what they said:  From its plush, refined tannins to its rustic undertones, this alluring Merlot offers juicy layers of black cherry, raspberry, and plum. On the palate, the flavors are pure and polished, with a mouth-coating texture that carries the wine to a luxurious, fruit-filled finish. 

We served it with a French eggplant stew and boy, those two together were fabulous.  The Merlot is delicious with vegetarian dishes and chicken.  We added roast chicken to our dish and the wine just made the entire dish so delectable.  We will do this again, especially in the fall.

Author Terri Steffes

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

1 H & 15 M

Total time

1 H & 30 M

Print

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Provencal Eggplant Stew

Ingredients

• 1-1 1/2 lbs of small eggplants
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 medium-sized yellow onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 5 medium tomatoes, cored and seeded
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup black olives, pitted and crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Trim eggplants. Cut small eggplants into 7 slices each, cutting to, but not through, the stem end. (Eggplant should be able to be fanned out without falling apart.)
3. Rub in oil to coat the pan evenly. Slice garlic. Slice onions. Place 2 cups onion slices, thyme, coriander, and sliced garlic in an even layer in prepared dish. Arrange eggplants on top, and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Place 1 tomato slice between each eggplant “fan blade.” Sprinkle with pepper and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Top with remaining sliced garlic, remaining 2 cups onion slices, mushrooms, olives, and bay leaves. Drizzle with remaining 1/3 cup olive oil.
4. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F (do not remove dish), and cook until eggplant is almost tender about 1 hour. Remove foil, and bake until juices are slightly reduced and eggplant is very tender about 20 minutes.

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