It’s VegeWednesday! We’ll be pairing our VegeCert Vegan Certified wines with a delicious Vegan recipe made for us by the wonderful Chef Sider at our sister winery Redstone.⁠⠀⁠⁠

This week we’re pairing the 2014 Laundry Merlot with a Hasselback Butternut Squash w/ Black Garlic & Herb Salad. The savoury earthiness of black garlic, pickled chilis, and squash is a beautiful compliment to this smoky and smooth Merlot from one of our favourite vineyards.

Ingredients:

• 2pc butternut squash, neck only, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 cup Redstone black garlic
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• ¼ cup each picked parsley, dill, cilantro, tarragon, mint
• ½ cup toasted cashews, chopped
• ½ cup Redstone pickled red chili
• Juice of one lime
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Combine the black garlic, vegetable stock, brown sugar and sherry vinegar and cook over medium heat until the garlic is very soft, approximately 15 minutes.
• Puree in a blender and reserve.
• Preheat the oven to 425F
• Place the squash cut side down on a cutting board.  Using a very sharp knife, cut the squash into thin slices (no more than 1/8” thick), but only do 95% of the way through the squash so it remains intact.
• Season the squash with salt and black pepper and individually wrap them in aluminum foil with a generous amount of black garlic glaze (at least ½ cup per piece).
• Bake until tender, approximately 20 minutes.

To serve:

• Remove the squash from the oven and place on a plate.  Spoon any excess glaze over the squash.
• Dress the herbs, chili and cashew in lime juice and olive oil and serve over the squash.