Wine With…Turkey Enchiladas

Wine With Turkey Enchiladas

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas    

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, we’re already thinking about leftovers — the part of the ongoing feast that we look forward to the most.  In a dress rehearsal of sorts for the post-Thanksgiving supper, we recently put together a batch of turkey enchiladas.  When it came time to choose the wines to pair with the enchiladas, we decided to open only ones costing less than $20, figuring that on the actual day of turkey ‘n trimmings we’ll be pouring refined, pricier selections.  For us, the day after America‘s greatest feeding frenzy should be dedicated to frugality in taste sensations, caloric intake, and cash outflow.     

The more spiced up the enchiladas, the more challenging they are to match seamlessly with wine, but since our rendition was relatively mild we found the dish remarkably adaptable to each of the fifteen wines we opened.  With no pairing strikingly discordant, our challenge then was simply to select the five we liked the most with it.  We began by eliminating both a Prosecco and a mild-mannered Australian Chardonnay on the basis that both wines – while perfectly adequate and indeed quite refreshing with the enchiladas – were nevertheless too light in texture and flavor to really shine with the dish.  A fleshier, more overtly fruity (and perhaps more heavily oaked) Chardonnay would probably do better.  We also discarded an Aussie Shiraz whose tannins clashed a tad too forcefully with the spice in the dish.  In general, all the wines we liked had a healthy dose of fresh fruit sweetness, and many of them boasted a slight hint of spice as well, either from an inherent quality in the grapes or from the spiciness invoked by the wine’s contact with oak barrels. 

Our version of enchiladas is simplicity itself.  If the corn tortillas are stiff, we warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes to soften them. We stir together shredded leftover turkey, coarsely chopped black olives, a few scallions, some minced canned green chilies, and just enough canned enchilada sauce to moisten the mixture.  Depending on the heat level of the chilies, we may add a splash of bottled hot sauce, or a little minced jalapeno to kick it up a bit.  We place a couple of spoonfuls of the turkey mixture along the middle of each tortilla, top it with grated cheese (Monterey jack or cheddar, or both), roll the tortillas up and place them close together, side by side, in a baking dish. The rest of the sauce, plus another can of it, gets poured over the enchiladas, and a healthy amount of cheese is sprinkled over the top.  We bake the dish, covered, at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, then take the cover off and continue baking until it is hot, bubbly and just starting to brown around the edges.  We serve the enchiladas with a fresh tomato salsa (chopped tomatoes, finely minced onion and garlic, a squeeze of lime juice, salt, pepper, and minced cilantro).   One of us likes to top the enchiladas with sour cream and guacamole, the other chooses to keep it simpler, adorned only with the salsa.  In any event, the added toppings don’t really change the enchiladas’ overall adaptability to wine – yet another example of how much there is to be thankful for on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

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Selection

Approx. Price

Comments

Boroli, Barbera d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy) ‘Quattro Fratelli‘

(Imported by Boroli USA)

  $16

The gentle tannins in this soft, supple Barbera never interfered with the enchiladas, and the slightly sweet plum-like fruit enhanced the match. 

Diseño, Mendoza (Argentina) Malbec 2006

(Imported by International Cellars)

 $13

A fairly light-bodied Malbec, with pliant tannins and bright fruit flavors enhanced by a note of anise or licorice in the finish.  That sweet quality made the wine work nicely with this dish.

Finca Omblancas, Jumilla (Spain) ‘Delaín‘ 2004 (Imported by Unique Selections)

 $13

A blend of Monastrell, Cabernet, and Syrah, this wine aged in oak barrels for only a few months, but it still displayed a vanilla note that in turn played well with this somewhat spicy dish. 

Olde Lockford Winery, Lodi (California) Zinfandel 2005

  $16

A ripe but fairly light-bodied Zin, with very sweet, ripe fruit flavors and a spicy finish.  The wine seemed almost too sweet when sipped on its own, but it worked very well when paired with the enchiladas.

Vigneto delle Rosenere, Sangiovese di Romagna (Italy) ‘Superiore‘ 2005

(Imported by Vineyard Brands)

 $11

Fruity but bright, this Sangiovese from central Italy offers that varietal’s tell-tale zing of acidity – something that made it pair nicely with the tomato-based enchilada sauce, much as it would with an Italian marinara sauce.