Kale and Tempeh Curry with Grüner #winePW

Kale and Tempeh Curry is a healthy and flavorful vegan recipe. Kale and tempeh simmer in coconut milk spiced with turmeric, garlic and curry powder. We paired the dish with a Grüner Veltliner white wine. Read ahead for details, or click here to jump down to the recipe.

I typically think of Grüner Veltliner as a refreshing white wine I turn to more as the weather gets warm. Grüner is not something I had associated a lot with specific food pairings, so I was eager to delve into food pairings for Grüner Veltliner when Martin from ENOFYLZ suggested the topic for today’s Wine Pairing Weekend event.

What foods pair with Grüner Veltliner wine?

Grüner Veltliner is a white wine grape grown primarily in Austria. There it might be paired with traditional meat dishes such as weiner schnitzel. Austrians might also pair Gruner with cold meats, salads, and vegetable dishes, according to Fiona Beckett.  Grüner is also known to go well with tough to pair veggies like asparagus and artichokes.

Another option is to pair Grüner Veltliner with spicy and flavorful Asian foods, as the crispness of the Grüner can work well with Asian flavors. This is the route we decided to go, and came up with a tasty Kale and Tempeh Curry recipe.

Our Kale and Tempeh Curry Dish

Our Kale and Tempeh Curry is a vegan recipe featuring nutrient packed kale along with tempeh, a protein rich food made from cured soybeans. We add some turmeric along with the curry spice for an extra dose of nutrition. The kale and tempeh simmer in the curry spiced coconut milk, resulting in kale that is tender and flavorful. I served the kale and tempeh curry over brown rice.

This kale and tempeh dish has lots of good curry flavor, without being overwhelmingly spicy. A recipe this healthy and tasty is sure to become a regular here in our house! I had cooked kale and tempeh together in a pasta dish earlier this summer, and correctly guessed these healthy ingredients would go well in a curry. Another great recipe with tempeh is this Tomato and Tempeh Skillet. 

For another tasty and healthy kale recipe, try our Kale and Apple Salad with Cranberries.

Kale and Tempeh Curry Paired with Grüner Veltliner

As I mentioned, I started with Martin’s suggestion that we focus on food pairings for Grüner Veltliner this month, and came up with the Kale and Tempeh Curry to go with Grüner. Recipe in mind, I picked up a bottle of 2015 Birgit Eichinger Grüner Veltliner ($19, 12% ABV). I got citrus on the nose, with a taste of peach and honey. A bit of flint detectable on the finish. A good quality and well-balanced wine, though I will say I’ve enjoyed Grüners just as much that were more in the $10 to $12 range.

The crispness and peach fruit paired pretty well with our kale and tempeh curry. A bit of residual sugar and/or more fruitiness might have made for an even better pairing. I would describe this pairing as companionable, the food and wine are fine together, but not quite one of those “A” pairings where the food and wine really enhance one another significantly.

Kale and Tempeh Curry

Kale and tempeh simmer in flavorful curried coconut milk for a healthy vegan meal.

• Author: Cooking Chat
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Main
• Method: stove top
• Cuisine: Indian
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1.5 tsps curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 4 cups kale, stem removed and coarsely chopped
• 1 pckg tempeh
• 1 14.5 oz can light coconut milk
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the red bell pepper and sauté 5 minutes until begins to soften.
2. Add the garlic, stir to combine. Cook one more minute.
3. Gradually stir the kale into the skillet.
4. When the kale has all been added, stir in the coconut milk and water.
5. Add the curry powder, cumin and cinnamon. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a gentle boil, then lower to medium and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
6. Add the tempeh, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the kale is tender.
7. When the veggies are cooked to your liking, scoop and serve over rice. Basmati rice is recommended for this Indian flavored dish!

Keywords: tempeh, tempeh curry, kale and tempeh, Grüner Veltliner

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Wine Pairing Weekend and Grüner Veltliner

We hope you’ll join us for our exploration of Grüner Veltliner in the glass and at the table.  Check out all these Wine Pairing Weekend posts to learn about Grüner and find great food pairings for this wine.

• Michelle of Rockin Red Blog tell us Why You Should be Drinking Grüner Veltliner.
• Jill of L’Occassion recommends we Go Ahead and Say It: Grüner Veltliner
• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla is dishing- Herbs, Bitter Greens, and Halibut Cheeks with Grüner Veltliner
• Sarah of Curious Cuisinere tempts us with Backhendl (Austrian Fried Chicken) and Grüner Veltliner
• Nancy of Pull that Cork will be offering Grüner Veltliner: A Pair of Pear(ings) for #winePW
• Lori of Dracaena Wines will be sending A Message in a Bottle From Austria
• David of Cooking Chat presents a healthy Kale and Tempeh Curry with Grüner ( you are here!)
• Jeff of FoodWineClick asks the question Is Grüner Veltliner Your Next Pizza Wine?
• Lauren of the The Swirling Dervish proclaims Gruner Veltliner: A Lot Easier to Drink than It is to Say
• Cindy of Grape Experiences recommends we Wine and Dine: Gruner Veltliner and Salmon Teriyaki with Garlic Baby Potatoes

For more information about past and upcoming Wine Pairing Weekend events, visit this page on Cooking Chat.