Why Cava is cool for a barbecue

Advertising feature: Cava might not be the first bottle you’d think of taking to or serving at a barbecue but if you think of it simply as a meal cooked over fire rather than under the grill or in the oven why not? And being an exceptionally food-friendly wine it will sail through.

Coming mainly from the south of Spain the D.O. Cava is much warmer than that of champagne which means there’s a ripeness and richness in the wines that can cope with the big flavours of grilled food. Added to that the depth and complexity that comes with bottle ageing (all wines are a cava de guarda and have a minimum of nine months ageing) and you can even pair it with spicy meats and marinades.

Which bottle you choose depends on what you're eating. Younger, more inexpensive cavas will be better with lighter foods like simply cooked fish and vegetables , reservas which have to be aged for 18 months can handle more robust flavours while a gran reserva which is aged for at least 30 months would be a treat with a whole fish or a lobster. If you see a vintage date on the label that's an indication of a more complex style.

And don't just think of the main ingredient - think how you can complement it. Summer vegetables such as peppers, courgettes (zucchini) and corn will all be lovely with cava - as will cornbread if you bake some as a side.

Then there’s seafood. Who doesn’t want to chuck a prawn on the barbie? Especially at the beach! There’a a fantastic hit of umami you get from the smoky shell. Not to mention the lovely sweetness of seared scallops. Put a piece of tuna on a hot grill and it’s suddenly a great match for a glass of cava - a reserva in this case I'd suggest.

Two great prawn recipes to grill on the BBQ

Then there are of course all the little nibbly bits you lay on to take the edge off your appetite while you’re waiting for the fish or meat to cook. Cava is brilliant with anything deep fried so if you’ve got a mate who’s a dab hand at croquetas get them on the job. Otherwise simple bought in tapas like olives, cheese and, especially, ham will all work brilliantly. Cava will go well with a creamy dip too. Or a few oysters. The fact that cava contains minimal added sugar makes it a great match for raw and lightly cooked shellfish.

You can also accent your Cava by the ingredients you put in your salads and sides. Fresh berries, barberries or pomegranate seeds for example will bring out the pretty berry fruit in a rosé Cava, known in Spain as rosado. It’s also great with the crispy croutons (and parmesan) in a caesar salad too. Grill some peaches or nectarines alongside your chicken and it will bring out the peachy notes in a Cava.

Then just sit late into the evening and enjoy your last glass with a nibble of cheese.

Happy days!

4 cavas to enjoy with your BBQ

Anna de Cordoniu Blanc de Blancs

A blend of chardonnay, parellada and other indigenous grape varieties this has the typically creamy consistency of a blanc de blancs

Drink with: A perfect aperitif to drink with creamy dips, croquetas and tapas before a barbecue but it would perfect with grilled seafood like scallops too

Gran Baron Cava Metodo Tradicional Bio-organic

This attractively rounded organic Cava would be a good wine to serve at a veggie barbecue - or with grilled chicken if you eat meat.

Vins El Cep Mim Natura Brut Nature Reserva 2016

This rich toasty but dry ‘brut nature’ style is would be a good pairing with grilled prawns - or even lobster. Or a whole grilled fish. Take it on a beach BBQ!

Treasure Gold Black Label Cava Brut

Pick up on the imagery of this dramatic-looking bottle by serving it with a Mexican-style barbecue feast. It’s soft, rich appley fruit would be great with carnitas and with tortillas and tacos.

For other ideas of what to serve with Cava see the 'Discover' section of the Cava website.

Want to learn more about Cava?

The Cava Academy has just launched an online cava training school for wine industry professionals to help them dive deeper into the history and personalities behind a glass of Cava, The curriculum offers audio-visual content, videos and interactive tests that make the learning process enjoyable, intuitive and adaptable to the pace of each student.

Tastings will be conducted by leading wine professionals and Cava ambassadors, including Pedro Ballesteros MW and Ferran Centelles and members of the innovative Basque Culinary Center in the form of educational video tutorials.

Upon completion of an exam at the end of the course, successful candidates will receive a Certified Cava Trainer diploma and gain access to the Cava Academy Alumni community. I

In addition, once travel restrictions from the pandemic are lifted, course graduates will be able to participate in a 2- or 3-day visit to the Cava region to experience winery visits as well as masterclasses focused on Cava’s gastronomic versatility.

Pictures by Nick Austin.

This is an advertising feature in association with D.O.Cava

Women on fire: top tips from two of the UK’s best BBQ chefs

In most households men are in charge of the barbecue but there’s a small but influential band of women moving onto their territory and transforming the way we think about grilling

I talked to two, food writer Helen Graves (above right) the editor of Pit Magazine and Genevieve Taylor (left) author of Charred and Foolproof BBQ who runs the Bristol Fire School to find out how they got into fire and get their top tips

What got you into BBQing and how did you become the chief firelighter in your household

Helen

There’s no romantic backstory here; it’s more a case that I want to eat everything, always, and barbecue was a natural extension of the kitchen for me - a case of, what’s that all about, then? When I tried it I became fascinated by the extra dimension of flavour that smoke and char can add to foods. I think of that flavour more as an ingredient than a technique, I suppose.

I was always quite experimental with what I cooked on the BBQ though, and as time went by I started to become frustrated by what was often a one dimensional narrative: all big pieces of meat, cheeseburgers and flame aprons. What were the real stories? We tend to focus on one style cooked by one group of people here in the UK, and while I’ve nothing against that, it’s not interesting to me. That’s where Pit magazine came from: a desire to start conversations around live fire cooking that looked through a wider cultural lens.

Genevieve

It started with wanting to be outside which is where I’m at my happiest. When the kids are little and you’re feeding them three times a day you want to mix it up a bit - it was my way of breaking the shackles of domesticity. When they were small they wanted to join in but now they’re too cool!

Why don’t women barbecue more? I think it’s a confidence thing. They don’t know where to start but women are brilliant at fire cooking because we’re so adept at multi-tasking.

Suppose you want to have your first crack at BBQ what are the first few essential steps

Genevieve

The key thing is to know where to place the food in relation to the heat. You should only put your fuel in half the barbecue so you have somewhere to move the food if the charcoal gets too hot. 75-80% of foods are better off cooking over indirect heat. If you take it slow you get a more juicy end result with food that is also cooked through.

It’s also worth getting a chimney starter because it creates an efficient airflow and gets the barbecue going faster. The only three things you need to light a fire are fuel, ignition (a match) and oxygen

Helen

Get yourself a basic kettle BBQ with a lid, because that will allow you to cook most things. You will also want a chimney starter, some decent firelighters like the natural ones made from ‘wood wool’ and the best quality charcoal you can afford. Grab a pair of tongs and you’re all set.

The other thing to remember is to set up your BBQ with the coals banked to one side, so that you’ve got a range of heat zones where you can crisp things up, cook them slowly or even just keep them warm.

And the mistakes that most beginners make?

Helen

The two things for me are the charcoal, and the way it’s allowed to burn before cooking. Buy the best charcoal you can afford, because the cheap stuff is pumped full of chemicals and you will need to wait a long time for those chemicals to burn off before you can start cooking. Good quality charcoal will be ready much faster and won’t taint your food.

Genevieve

It’s bollocks that you have to wait until you get a layer of white ash. That’s because most charcoal is full of chemicals and you have to burn them off. You can get good British charcoal going in 5 minutes.

And people tend to spread coals all over the base of the BBQ. As I said, you need set up zones in your fire.

How big or expensive a barbecue do you need to buy?

Helen

There are so many BBQs on the market now and yeah, it’s fun to play with big, shiny toys but most things can be cooked on a standard kettle BBQ. I use my large Weber kettle the most often.

Genevieve

I have lots of different barbecues at Fire School but you really only need one standard kettle style barbecue. You shouldn’t need to spend more than £200-300. Weber is a good compromise between space, budget and style.

Charcoal or gas?

Genevieve

Charcoal every time. You need to think about fuel as your principal ingredient. In the UK we tend to approach BBQ in an ad hoc way. When the sun is shiningI we rush off and buy a bag of charcoal and a pack of sausages from the supermarket but the charcoal most likely comes from tropical hardwood from South America or West Africa, probably illegally harvested. There’s no point in spending £30-40 on beautiful grass-fed salt aged beef and cook it on chemically laden charcoal. I generally buy sustainable British charcoal from Whittle & Flame

I’d also add wood into the equation for a smoky flavour. Smoking isn't tricky - you can smoke on any barbecue with a lid.

Helen

I’m a charcoal gal, because you won’t get the same results from a gas BBQ. For example, the fat dripping onto the coals creates smoke, which creates flavour. That’s not achievable with an outdoor hob. I hate snobbery when it comes to cooking, so do what you want, but don’t expect the same results.

Charcoal production is an ancient skill and we should support it - it’s a joy to burn and I never get tired of lighting it and hearing it ‘sing’ - good charcoal makes a sort of tinkling sound when you light it, which always makes me excited. That sound is full of promise.

What's the best way to get out of the burger, banger and chicken leg rut

Helen

Meat in a bun does tend to define most BBQs, and I think the best way to combat that is to think seasonally. E.g. If it's spring then asparagus might be in, and a lot of vegetables just need tossing in a little oil and grilling quickly - sprinkle them with sea salt and you have something wonderful as they have softened and sweetened yet charred around the edges. I also love grilling small new potatoes until they turn wrinkly and serving them on cold yoghurt with spiced chilli butter. Of course, roots can be wrapped in foil can be chucked into the coals, too.

Genevieve

People are always amazed that you can cook a roast Sunday lunch on the barbecue. You can even bake a cake over indirect heat - it works just like a fan oven.

Favourite ingredient to put on the grill?

Genevieve

My world is all about meat at the moment as I’ve been working on recipes for my new book Seared but in general veg really excite me. Meat is delicious but quite one dimensional. With veg you get so many colours and textures - squishy and crunchy, red, green, yellow … You can layer them with herbs and nuts. There are so many options

Helen

At the moment, I love lamb ribs. The fat goes all crackly and crisp, and the inside is butter soft. Lamb is one of my all time favourite ingredients, to be honest. Mainly because the flavour is strong and it can take a lot of spice. I don’t do subtle flavours, as a general rule. I also love grilling small new potatoes though, and soft stone fruits like peaches and nectarines, to eat with salty cheese.

What country’s barbecuing tradition do you most admire?

Helen

There are so many! I love Turkish barbecue and I love the ocakbasi. The way the coals are really burnt down to embers and the kebabs or vegetables really cook very slowly over them, absorbing all that smoke. I also love grilled shellfish, and particularly the 'snails' (my friend Liliane Nguyen told me all shellfish are known as snails) in Vietnam and Cambodia. I love very simply grilled seafood like that, which preserves the sweetness of the meat and doesn’t overpower it. That's what inspired the prawns with chilli salt recipe.

Genevieve

There’s not a country that doesn’t have a cuisine based on fire-cooking. Fire is where it all began. I’m really into using spices and herbs so I’m naturally drawn to food from south-east Asia. There’s a great tradition of Khmer barbecue in Cambodia. Thai BBQ is great then there’s Mexico, south America ….

What are your top tips for barbecuing for a crowd?

Genevieve

It just needs more advance prep in the kitchen - doing your chopping, making your marinades and sauces. But get people to help. Friends who would never come over and help if you were at the hob in the kitchen are happy to pitch in. They regard the cooking as part of the occasion.

Helen

Keep it simple with things that can be piled onto big platters, so wings are great, and so are big grilled vegetables plates with a killer dressing. Add a contrasting texture such as some toasted seeds or grilled bread croutons and you can’t go wrong. Over complicating things is where it will unravel. This isn’t the time to try cooking a brisket for the first time, for example.

Beer, wine or cocktails with a BBQ?

Helen

All of the above, in my opinion. Beer is an obvious choice but I love to serve a dark rose with lamb chops, for example, or something more gritty and oxidative with pork shoulder would be quite lovely actually. I’m generally not that into orange wines, but I could see the herbal edges working well with the sweet richness of that slow cooked meat.

Genevieve

I’m not a great lover of cocktails. Beer when I’m cooking and wine when I’m eating!

Get more barbecue tips from Genevieve’s two books Charred and Foolproof BBQ or sign up to book a class at her Bristol Fire School You can follow her on instagram @GenevieveEats

Follow Helen on instagram @foodstories and subscribe to Pit Magazine here

10 ways to barbecue better - top tips from TV chef Henry Herbert

A report on an all-day butchery and barbeque course at Hobbs House cookery school I went to a couple of summers ago. A great day out for any BBQ enthusiast (or women who live with one who want to keep their end up ;-)

Henry Herbert of Channel 4’s Fabulous Baker Brothers, who runs the school with his brother Tom, showed us how to cut up different types of meat, joint chickens and make burgers and sausages then how to cook them on the barbecue

Here are his top ten tips for improving your barbecuing skills:

1. Buy a barbecue with a lid to avoid flare-ups

2. Heat your charcoal or briquettes in a chimney starter

Probably the most useful tip for inexpert fire builders. You need a purpose-built chimney starter like this one (see also right and below). It provides the exactly the amount of fuel you need and it gets hot quickly and evenly. If you leave a few briquettes in the bottom of the starter and top with more you have extra coals for topping up the barbie when you need them.

3. Char your veg directly over the coals while the starter is heating

A great way to blister the skins of aubergines and peppers for a baba ganoush dip or a salad

4. Suit the heat source to the cut

If you’re cooking thicker pieces of meat like chicken legs use indirect heat - i.e. where the food is not directly over the coals. Cook thinner cuts like butterflied chicken breasts, steak and burgers directly over the fire.

5. Butterfly your chicken breasts

In other words cut through the breast lengthways leaving it attached at the side so you can flatten it out into a fillet. That way you don’t need to cook it too long

6. Leave the basting till the last minute

Especially if you're using a marinade that contains sugar which will burn if you expose it to a high heat for too long (hence burnt chicken legs).

7. Pre-cook your sausages

In beer, preferably. Or at least that’s what Henry did by sweating off some onions in butter, topping up with beer and poaching the bangers very gently in the liquid for about 10 minutes. Or you can use water. Then finish them off on the grill. It avoids burnt sausage syndrome - and the risk of food poisoning - and makes them extra-delicious

8. Buy your mince freshly ground from dry-aged meat

It made a huge difference in the burgers we handled which were sticky rather than slimey and wet. It also improves the taste (obviously) so you don’t need to add other ingredients such as onion. Just salt and pepper*

9. Heat your burger buns over the coals

For a warm bun - and perfect melty cheese - lay the cheese over the burger and top with the two halves of the bun

10. Have your burgers and steak at room temperature before you start

So you can cook them rare without leaving them raw. Actually that applies to all meats but obviously don't leave them out in the blazing sun.

* And if you’re making them in advance season them at the last moment like a steak to prevent the meat drying out. Otherwise the salt will draw out the moisture.

Butchery and BBQ masterclasses are held monthly at the Hobbs House cookery school in Chipping Sodbury, just north of Bristol and cost £185 including all the barbecue you can eat! For details see the website. The next is on July 18th.

I attended the course as a guest of Hobbs House.